The Hindu : New Delhi News : Hooda unhappy with Sheila

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 28, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Hooda unhappy with Sheila

Sujay Mehdudia

Her statement on SYL Canal sparks crisis Mr. Sajjan Kumar raised the matter in Parliament on Wednesday and sought intervention of the Central Government to resolve the matter.

NEW DELHI: The recent public appreciation of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's "bold stand" on the issue of construction of the controversial Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal by the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, could lead to problems for the Capital in getting extra water from Haryana during the upcoming summer months. The Congress-led Haryana Government is clearly unhappy with Ms. Dikshit for hailing Capt. Singh's stand on this sensitive issue.

Already the Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has reacted to Ms. Dikshit's assertion. The issue also came up for discussion during Monday's crisis management meeting taken by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, at her residence in New Delhi to settle the dispute in the Delhi unit of the Congress. It is understood that Ms. Dikshit's stand was not appreciated during the meeting after a number of Congress leaders raised objections to such a statement on an issue that has the potential to stir up sentiments in both Haryana and Punjab.

It is learnt that the Member of Parliament from Outer Delhi, Sajjan Kumar, had reportedly intervened in the matter and taken it up with Mr. Hooda during a meeting last week. Mr. Sajjan Kumar is also understood to have sounded Ms. Dikshit on the issue and offered to play a broker between the two States if it helps in getting more water for Delhi. "I had informed Ms. Dikshit about my discussions with Mr. Hooda. She had asked me to go ahead and fix a meeting. If the talks turn out to be fruitful, then the water treatment plants of Bawana and Nangloi could get additional water and this would have gone a long way in resolving the problem of water shortage in Dwarka, Uttam Nagar, Rohini, Mangopuri, Sultanpuri and other Outer Delhi areas,'' Mr. Sajjan Kumar confirmed.

However, even as Mr. Sajjan Kumar was trying to intervene and get matters sorted out, the public statement by Ms. Dikshit in the presence of the Punjab Chief Minister complicated matters. Interestingly, the Delhi Government has taken exactly the opposite stand in the Supreme Court on the issue of abrogation of the water sharing treaties by the Punjab Government.

The initiative of Mr. Sajjan Kumar could well die a premature death in view of Ms. Dikshit's stand and the public posture adopted by Mr. Hooda. Mr. Kumar is feeling let down by the fact that despite his efforts to get water from Haryana things are being complicated for no valid reason. The opposition parties in Haryana are already up in arms against the statement by the Delhi Chief Minister and this could further put Mr. Hooda under pressure not to give any concession to the Delhi. The water treatment plants in Delhi along with the underground reservoirs have been functioning at much below their normal capacity.

The water flow from Haryana has been declining over the last few days despite release of additional water. Both the Chandrawal and Haiderpur water treatment plants are functioning below their capacity leading to short supply and low pressure in the distribution circuit. Interestingly, Mr. Sajjan Kumar raised the matter in Parliament on Wednesday and sought intervention of the Central Government to resolve the matter. Mr. Kumar hinted that a high level committee is likely to be constituted to chalk out a long-term policy for the supply of water to Delhi from the neighbouring States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttaranchal.

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