Claiming that the Delhi Government has already started taking measures to increase water supply to the Capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday he would soon be meeting Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda over releasing water for the Munak canal that would help in the supply to several areas in West Delhi.
“I have written to the Haryana Chief Minister seeking his time. We want to talk to him and find a solution,” said Kejriwal. The Munak Canal was constructed by the Haryana Government with financial assistance of around Rs 400 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 Rs 520 crore, the Delhi Government till now has spent Rs 414 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.