Jaipur, Feb 29 – BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari on Thursday hit back at the ‘lies’ being spread by the Congress regarding the Yamuna Water Agreement.
Tiwari said the Congress kept important works like the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) and the Yamuna Water Agreement in abeyance, while the BJP’s triple-engine government in Rajasthan, Centre and Haryana has worked to implement both these agreements on the ground.
“Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra is not only misleading the people of the state, but also confusing them. The people of Rajasthan have also seen the extravagant Congress government, when work had to be done by paying money. Former CM Ashok Gehlot did not go out for one-and-a-half years, even his MLAs remained locked in hotels,” Tiwari said.
Earlier at a press conference, Dotasra had accused the BJP government of making fake claims on ERCP water agreement and the Yamuna Water Agreement.
He said, “The Yamuna Water Agreement was signed in 1994 and the Upper Yamuna Water Board comprises five states, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It was decided that Shekhawati would get 1917 cusecs of water. An agreement was also reached in 2001-2002 in which it was decided from which place Haryana would get water. At that time, Haryana’s claim was on 13,000 cusecs. Infrastructure had to be prepared to take additional water, but Haryana did not give NOC to Rajasthan.”
Tiwari, meanwhile, said that Rajasthan will surely get 1,917 cusecs of water from the Yamuna Water Agreement.
“This is PM Modi’s guarantee and it is also certain that if the Prime Minister’s guarantee is there, it is going to be fulfilled. The double-engine government in Rajasthan will prepare a DPR on the Yamuna Water Agreement in four months, and work on providing water to Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Neem Ka Thana districts. Renuka, Lakhwar and Kishau dams will be built as per the agreement of the state government.
“Before the Hathini Kund Barrage, an agreement was made to provide water to Rajasthan through a 260 km canal in Haryana, and now an agreement has been made to bring Rajasthan’s share of water through a pipeline. This will reduce evaporation of water and the people of the state will be able to get water in more quantity. Not only this, the pipeline will be laid underground, and the farmers will also get compensation for it. Their crop will also not get spoiled,” Tiwari said.
He also said that due to the misdeeds of the Congress, no agreement could be reached on the Hathnikund Barrage for 30 years.
Water Resources Minister Suresh Rawat said that the earlier agreement promised only 0.6 cusecs of water to Rajasthan, whereas now Rajasthan will get 1,917 cusecs of water.
“This has been possible because of the efficient leadership of Prime Minister Modi, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. This agreement will prove to be a boon for the people of Shekhawati, who will not only get drinking water, but will also get water for irrigation,” Rawat said.
arc/arm
