NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday set up a high-powered Steering Committee to deal with the water-sharing problems of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Emerging out of the third meeting of the political-level Upper Yamuna Review Committee, Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz said Secretaries of the Ministries of Water Resources, Power and Environment and Yamuna basin States of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and National Capital Region of Delhi would be members of the panel.

He said the Committee had met after nine years. "We have had thorough discussions and many problems of water sharing were discussed," he said. The Review Committee's meeting was last held in 1997.

On Delhi's demand for water from Uttar Pradesh, Mr Soz said there were some disagreements but expressed the hope that Delhi's position would ease. "Uttar Pradesh will consider the situation afresh." Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit also said there was some hope and the Capital's water problem was "towards solution".

During the meeting, Haryana government urged the Centre to take up as a centrally-funded project construction of the three storage dams in upstream Yamuna - Kishau, Renuka and Lakhwar. Haryana's Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda said nearly 50 per cent of water received during monsoons went waste due to lack of progress in the construction of storage reservoirs.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said the meeting decided to set up a Group of Secretaries of the four States to look into the State getting its share of Yamuna waters to solve its drinking-water problems, particularly in the districts of Churu and Jhunjhunu.

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