Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that the Supreme Court, in its decision has clearly said that SYL should be built and both Haryana and Punjab should come to a mutual agreement for its construction. However, despite these directions, Punjab Chief Minister and his administrative wing are adamant about not resolving this issue.
“Instead of discussing this pivotal issue, the Punjab Chief Minister and his administrative wing repeatedly say that there is no water in the state. Rather they are asking to discuss sharing of water whereas a separate tribunal has been set up for discussing issues related to water sharing. Distribution of water will be done according to the recommendation of the tribunal," said Khattar while interacting with the media persons in New Delhi on Thursday.
Reacting to the statement made by Delhi Chief Minister, Khattar said that if Arvind Kejriwal has any formula to resolve the SYL issue, he should share the same with Bhagwant Mann. The Punjab Chief Minister should share the formula with Haryana whenever the next meeting is held. Also, if not with us, then Arvind Kejriwal can also share the same formula with the Supreme Court.
The Chief Minister said that meeting the needs of drinking water is the utmost priority of any government. Most of the water that Haryana is giving to Delhi is used for drinking purposes. Delhi is getting its complete water share from Haryana as per Supreme Court’s orders, he added.
In response to a question, Khattar said that there is no reason to reduce Delhi’s water share. However, in Haryana, along with drinking water, a large part is also used for irrigation. The demand for water in Delhi and the NCR region will increase in the future and if we get water from somewhere like Punjab or any other source, then only we will be able to meet the demand of Delhi in the coming times. Everyone will have to work together to find such a way that the water needs of all areas are met, added the Chief Minister.
By January 26, pay scale of Patwaris will be increased
Responding to a question regarding the Patwaris strike, the Chief Minister said that a meeting was held with the Patwari Association, in which their main demands were agreed upon and they have called off the strike. There was a long-standing demand from the Patwaris regarding the pay scale, which has been agreed upon and the pay scale of Patwaris will be increased by January 26, shared Sh. Manohar Lal. He said that there was also a demand for fresh recruitment of Patwaris, which the government would fulfill soon. The Common Eligibility Test (CET) has been held and now vacant posts of Patwaris will be filled soon.
Box—Khattar to lay foundation stone of projects worth Rs 2,000 crore today
Haryana is all set to receive yet another development bonanza as Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be inaugurating, laying the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 2,000 crore on Friday. These inaugurations would be done through the virtual medium from Gurugram.
The Government official spokesperson said that while this is not the first time that Khattar has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects, since 2019, more than five times, the Chief Minister has dedicated projects worth more than Rs 10,500 crore to the public through such programmes.
He said that the State Government has done tremendous work to strengthen the health infrastructure, create a favourable industrial environment, promote business, strengthen the road network and open new avenues of development. Holistic development has been ensured from Panchkula to the Mewat region.
Under the leadership of the Chief Minister, after Ease of Doing Business, the state government is continuously working in the direction of Ease of Living with the aim of increasing the Happiness Index of the state. New initiatives have been taken to ensure education, health, clean water, roads, self-reliance etc. to every class. In order to make Haryana a prosperous Haryana, the Chief Minister is working tirelessly to strengthen peace, harmony and mutual brotherhood along with development, he added.