Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday wrote to his Haryana counterpart Manohar lal Khattar, asking him to take immediate step to restore supply of raw water through Munak Canal. Haryana supplies water to treatment plants in Delhi through a canal which caters largely to areas of west and south Delhi such as Dwarka.
This move of the Government came a day after it announced that 20,000 litres of free water will be provided to households in the Capital. Seeking to resolve the issue Kejriwal has also sought an appointment from Khattar to discuss the issue with his team of officers.
“Raw water releases by Irrigation Department of Haryana in the Munak carrier lined channel have suddenly been reduced substantially leading to major disruption in production of drinking water at the treatment plants of Delhi,” Kejriwal claims in his letter. The letter further states that despite repeated requests by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Haryana has not restored the supply.
“With the summer season drawing closer, the continued reduction in supply is bound to lead to a crisis situation in Delhi. I request you to urgently look into the matter personally and direct the officers concerned of Irrigation Department to restore the supplies. I would also like to come to Chandigarh and meet you personally with my tea m of officer to discuss the issue. let me know a date and time at your convenience,” reads the letter.
In December last year, the Delhi High Court had asked Haryana to start releasing water in the 102-km concretised canal — instead of the existing kuchha waterways —to check huge waste of water due to seepage. Haryana had been refusing to switch to the new channel because of Delhi’s demand that savings — in addition to the regular supply — should also come to it. However, it had started the supply after the court’s intervention.
The Munak Canal was constructed by the Haryana Government with financial assistance of around Rs400 crore from the Delhi Government on the condition that the national Capital will be supplied 80 MGD water from it. But later, Haryana refused to supply the water to the city. As both sides failed to settle the dispute, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had set up a GoM headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram to find a solution to the matter.
Haryana has opposed any water-sharing, saying it has been generously providing water to its neighbour even though its own demand has gone up in recent years. The construction work on the 102-km canal between Munak in Haryana border and Haiderpur in Delhi has almost been completed. The canal has been constructed to stop loss of water through leakages in various existing canal along the Yamuna.
Moreover, because of non-availability of water the 20 MGD water treatment plant in Dwarka is lying idle. With the Munak Canal, 80 MGD of water, which is otherwise lost on account of seepage in the current carrier canal, could be saved. Delhi is currently reeling under acute water shortage issues. The Government, which is currently producing 835 MGD of water, is unable to meet the water demands of 18 million people in the city.
The fight between Delhi and Haryana over water supply from this canal has been going on for almost seven years without reaping any positive result. Out of \\Rs520 crore, the Delhi Government till now has spent Rs414 crore on this project.
However, Haryana on the other hand has been contesting Delhi’s claim and maintains that 80 MGD is part of the quantum that Delhi receives. “Delhi is insisting that it will neither pay the remaining amount for construction of it, nor will it allow water to pass through the canal if Haryana does not agree to supply additional 80 MGD of water as promised. As a result, Haryana stopped water supply to Delhi,” said an official of DJB.