NEW DELHI: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said his state alone should not be banked upon to meet the water needs of the national capital and that other states too should come forward with contributions.
The Haryana Chief Minister said this at the meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here today.
Khattar said Haryana itself is a water-deficit state with respect to surface and groundwater resources. The groundwater level in the state, particularly in the fresh water zone, is depleting fast due to heavy exploitation, he added.
"Waters of the inter-state rivers should be declared national property and we should aim to achieve the national goals by putting aside inter-state disputes," he said in his speech.
Khattar said that to conserve water, Haryana has taken multi-pronged initiatives in accordance with the Pardhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana and district irrigation plans are proposed to be prepared on a pilot basis in four districts in 2015-16.
The Haryana Chief Minister added that his government was committed to fulfilling the expectations of the farmers and people of the state regarding provision of adequate water through early completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal and the Hansi-Butana canal.
"The state government is shortly going to mention this matter before the Supreme Court for early hearing and adjudication of the Presidential Reference on the unilateral abrogation of the Tripartite Water Settlement of 1974.
"The Haryana Government also intends to file a suit challenging the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 passed by the Punjab Legislative Assembly," he added.
Khattar said he was specifically raising this issue because the increasing demand of water of the National Capital Territory of Delhi can be reasonably met only after fulfilment of the needs of the residents of Haryana.