Indian Express 17.02.2010
Canal near-ready but Haryana says no water sharing
Geeta Gupta Tags : haryana water canal case, delhi Posted: Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 at 0037 hrs
New Delhi: The coming summer season looks bleak on the water front, despite the government’s efforts to upgrade and develop water supply infrastructure.While the construction of the concrete channel parallel to the Western Yamuna Canal from Munak in Haryana to Wazirabad in Delhi is in the final stages, Haryana is not ready to give the additional water that will be available to Delhi after canal is operational.
Incidentally, the Delhi government has borne the entire project cost of Rs 550 crore. Initially supposed to be completed in 2006, the canal’s rescheduled deadline is this March-end.
Once completed, Munak Canal is expected to increase Delhi’s raw water supply by 80 million gallons a day (MGD) to run its three water treatment plants — the 20-MGD Okhla Water Treatment Plant, the 20-MGD Bawana plant, and the 50-MGD treatment plant at Dwarka.
While talks are on between Delhi and Haryana at both the chief minister-level and the chief secretary-level, the Sheila Dikshit government has requested Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar to intervene in the matter, a top source in the Delhi government told Newsline.
“Haryana wants to utilise 80 MGD water saved through the canal in its own way,” the source said. “Why did Delhi spend Rs 550 crore on the project then? The Cabinet Secretary has asked chief secretaries of the two states to discuss and resolve the dispute but nothing positive has emerged so far.”
Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta confirmed that construction on the canal would be over by March-end. “We are still trying to resolve the water-sharing dispute with Haryana,” he added.
The canal is expected to prevent loss of water through seepage along the Western Yamuna Canal — the present 30-per cent loss of water is expected to come down to about 5 per cent once the canal is operational. The total length of the canal from Munak to Wazirabad is 102 km.
Under a Supreme Court ruling, Haryana is required to supply as much water to Delhi as is needed to maintain the Wazirabad pond level at 674.5 feet. But the state has refused to share water that would be saved by passing it through the canal.
Canal facts
* 102-km canal from Munak (Haryana) to Wazirabad (Delhi) expected to prevent loss of water through seepage along the Western Yamuna Canal
* Delhi govt funded Rs 550-cr canal project
* As per Supreme Court ruling, Haryana is required to supply as much water to Delhi as is needed to maintain Wazirabad pond’s level at 674.5 feet
