NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have “backed out” from plans to give extra water to Delhi, while Haryana is not keen to pursue a water exchange proposal with the city, according to officials.
Proposals were being pursued since 2019. The two states pulled out around six to eight months ago. The city had a plan to exchange 140 million gallons a day (MGD) of treated wastewater for freshwater from
Uttar Pradesh.
“Uttar Pradesh said it could share 270 cusecs of water from the Ganga through the Murad Nagar regulator and Delhi had promised to release an equal amount of treated wastewater to UP from Okhla for irrigation purposes.“After multiple meetings and field inspections, Uttar Pradesh wrote to us around six months ago that the idea has been dropped,” an official said.
The Centre was in favour of the proposal but Uttar Pradesh denied it. They did not give any reason for doing so, he said. Delhi also held deliberations with Haryana on a proposal to share 20 MGD of treated wastewater for irrigation through Jaunti and Auchandi regulators in lieu of freshwater through Carrier Lined Canal and Delhi Sub Branch.
“Haryana has not agreed to the proposal yet. There is a very slim chance of it happening now,” the official said. Another official said the proposal for a water exchange with Haryana is pending at the level of the Upper Yamuna River Board.