Haryana agrees to release Delhi's share of 450 cusec of water daily for 15 days

NEW DELHI: The Haryana government has agreed to supply Delhi its daily water share of 450 cusecs for the next 15 days, after which the Supreme Court will take a final decision.

The decision was taken at a meeting held on Monday at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi, which was attended by and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) vice-chairman Dinesh Mohaniya, DJB CEO Arvind Kumar Singh, Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and Haryana Chief Secretary DS Dhesi.

Mohaniya, the AAP MLA from Sangam Vihar, said that the Secretary of Union Water Resources Ministry was also present to mediate the meeting, which lasted an hour

All decisions were taken amicably, with both state governments reaching a consensus on the decision.

The apex court had directed the chief secretaries of Delhi and Haryana and the secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources to hold a meeting immediately to discuss and sort out the issues relating to the supply of Yamuna river water to the national Capital.

The direction came after the two chief secretaries, who were both present in the court during a hearing, raised issues regarding the minutes of an earlier meeting between them.

While Prakash told a bench, comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta that the Delhi government had not agreed on certain aspects at the last meeting, Dhesi said the minutes of the last meeting were "correctly recorded".

While Haryana claims it is supplying the entire amount to Delhi through a local canal system, Delhi wants it done through the main canal system so that it can distribute water for irrigation and use the remaining for providing drinking water.

Sources said that under a May 1994 memorandum of understanding, Delhi's share of the Yamuna water is 381 cusec at Tajewala and another 369 cusec at Wazirabad.

Of the 381 cusec, 330 is supplied at the Haiderpur Canal while the remaining 51 cusec is meant for Delhi's irrigation use.

Over the years, the area under agriculture in Delhi has reduced significantly. At present, no more than 5-7 cusec of water is needed for irrigation.

A source in DJB said, "Haryana has been claiming that it has been releasing our entire share. But that is obviously not true. If 51 cusec water is released at Tajewala, around 32-33 cusec would reach Delhi after accounting for losses through transmission. If Haryana is actually releasing this water, they need to show us the proof. We have even approached the Uppar Yamuna River Board, but Haryana has not budged."with agency inputs