Amidst assurances that Ganga will not be a poll plank for the forthcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti kickstarted Jal Manthan-III on Friday, saying the Centre is discussing the issue of bringing water into concurrent list with States.
She further said that her Ministry is also working on new acts for water use and Ganga. The issue of river interlinking also figured prominently in the water conference.
“The issue of the Ganga is such that all political parties, the media and people of all castes and communities are involved in it. Hence, we are not going to make it a part of any political agenda,” she said.
Deliberating on various issues related to water resources management, the Minister said, “Water user associations are not performing up to the mark in some States. We may have to take active help from NGOs to strengthen these associations as active and performing water user associations are very important for the success of Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (PMKSY)”. Underlying the need for peoples' participation in Water Resources Management, the Minister said there is a need to convert Jal Kranti into Jan Kranti.
Bharti further said that funding pattern is being finalised for the ambitious Ken Betwa project.
She expressed hope that the project would commence during the first quarter of this year itself. The Minister said the project will be completed within seven years. The Minister also referred to Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga-Mahanadi-Godawari link and called it as “Mother link” of inter-linking of rivers in the country. She said the successful completion of this link would be able to solve the drought and flood problems of the States of West-Bengal, Bihar and Odisha to a great extent.
The issue of waste water management, common pooling of water resources by farmers and fixing the accountability of water use to stop its wastage and the urgent need to develop a culture to understand the important of water conservation figured during the conference.