While Punjab has once again reiterated that its opinion be considered before launching any national level river-linking project, the State has sought a package from the Union Government on the pattern of Ganga action plan for rejuvenation and cleaning of all its rivers besides a one time allocation for relining and redesigning the archaic canal system.
Acute water shortageState Irrigation Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, while participating in the “Jal Manthan” conference organised in New Delhi said that as Punjab was faced with acute water shortage, it could not afford to share more of its river waters. He said that Punjab’s position of inter-State sharing of river waters based on the riparian principle was well known, an official release said here on Friday.
On the contrary, Mr. Dhillon said that Punjab had actually bled itself for the last 67 years while meeting the food security needs of the country. He said if the ground water table of the State continued to recede at the present rate, it would soon become a desert.
The minister said that in the quest to increase agricultural production, Punjab’s ecological system had suffered immensely.
The Union Minister for Water Resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, Uma Bharti has already been quoted as announcing that based on its outcome, the Ganga Action Plan could be amended before being extended to other States in a phased manner.
