Delhi Water Minister Atishi accused the Haryana government of conspiring against the people of the national capital by continuously denying the city of its share of water.
Atishi inspected the Wazirabad barrage here on Friday and took stock of water level.
Pointing out that the Supreme Court is trying its best to solve the water problem of the people of Delhi, she recounted how the court is continuously hearing this matter and even ordered a meeting of the Upper Yamuna River Board while listing the matter again for hearing on Monday.
She, however, regretted that even as the hearing is going on for the last five days the Haryana government is indulging in a conspiracy behind the back of the apex court.
Claiming that since June 2, when the issue of water reached the Supreme Court, Haryana has been continuously reducing the water it releases in the Yamuna for Delhi, the minister said, “As a result, the water level in the barrage at Wazirabad, which was 671.3 feet on June 2, has come down to 669.9 feet on June 7.”
Noting that Delhi is dependent on the Yamuna River for its entire water supply, she said, “The water that comes into the Yamuna is the same that is released from Haryana.”
“The water coming into the Yamuna is supplied to Wazirabad, Chandrawal, and Okhla water treatment plants. When less water comes into the Yamuna from Haryana, from where will the water treatment plant produce water? This will affect the supply and people will suffer,” the minister said.
She said, “While Himachal Pradesh has expressed its willingness in the court to help, the Haryana government is plotting to ensure that the problem of Delhi’ites remains unsolved. This is the reason why Haryana is constantly stopping the release of the water they send to Wazirabad.”
“We will put this entire issue before the Supreme Court and hope Delhi will be able to get its share of water and the additional water from Himachal Pradesh without any obstruction,” she added.
Last week, Atishi wrote a letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the water crisis in the national capital and sought his immediate intervention to resolve the issue.