Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Monday said that the Government wants to clean the Yamuna river in such a way that farmers get adequate water for irrigation and there is continuous flow of water in the river.
The percentage of share of water should not get affected in Haryana and Delhi, said the Union Minister while interacting with mediapersons at Hathnikund Barrage in district Yamunanagar.
She said that development is possible without causing any damage to the river. Purification of all drains falling into the Yamuna river would also be done to make Yamuna neat and clean.
She said that the Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has for the first time constituted a River Development Board for conservation of rivers and a plan has been formulated for purification of Yamuna river along with Ganga.
Uma Bharti said that reduced level of water in Yamuna river is our main concern. She said that we would have to combine all schemes by keeping in view the interests of all sections of the society. This includes three schemes of farmers, drinking water and continuous flow of water in the rivers.
Yamuna action plan has been started in two phases for maintaining the purity of Yamuna river and she herself has been visiting the Yamuna area to accelerate the pace of work, added the Union Minister.
She also asked officers about drains falling in Yamuna river and directed them to start a special campaign to save the river from pollution. “Either close all the drains completely or put the water in the river only after purifying it”, she added.
The Minister said that all rivers like Saraswati-Yamuna-Ganga are not only linked with people on religious grounds but our economic development is also linked with them.
Talking about Saraswati river, she said that if we are able to trace the complete route of Saraswati river then it would open new dimensions of economic growth and there would be new water resources in Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
She added Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat had constituted a team with Underground Water Board along with ISRO team to trace the passage of Saraswati river in which Haryana had done commendable job.