The Hindu : New Delhi News : Jal Board move to check water fluctuations

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Monday, Mar 03, 2008
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Jal Board move to check water fluctuations

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Board wants Centre to establish a monitoring mechanism

Delhi and Haryana are at loggerheads over the sharing of Yamuna waters
‘A neutral party that will keep an eye on sharing of water will be able to alert both States’

NEW DELHI: Frazzled by the frequent disruptions in the supply of water meant for the Capital, the Delhi Jal Board wants the Centre to step in and ensure that Haryana sticks to the terms of water sharing agreement signed by the two States.

Delhi and Haryana have been at loggerheads over the sharing of Yamuna waters and the recurrent reduction in the city’s share over the past few months has brought matters to a boil.

Options

DJB officials say with most options already exhausted, the Board is now exploring the possibility of getting the Centre to establish a central monitoring mechanism that will act as a referee.

“Our officials have been communicating with their counterparts in Haryana, we have already brought the issue to the attention of the Chief Secretary Haryana, written to the Central Water Commission and the Upper Yamuna River Board and even sent a legal notice with regard to the violation of agreement on providing water for the Nangloi plant,” said Arun Mathur, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board.

A central monitoring mechanism he explained “would help in keeping a check on the flow of water between Haryana and Delhi.”

“A neutral party that will keep an eye on the sharing of water will be able to alert both the States as soon as it observes a dip in the water levels of the Yamuna. We are only asking Haryana to abide by the agreement that has been signed and give Delhi its legitimate share of water,” he said.

Mr. Mathur said while the Board is hopeful of getting Haryana to release the scheduled quantum of water, it wants to rule out any possibility of water shortage during the coming summer months.

VIP areas

Many parts of the city including the VIP areas have been witnessing water shortage for the past few days. Production of water at Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants has reduced following a cut in the water supplied by Haryana.

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