Water is bigger problem than power crisis: Montek

Chandigarh, Sep 28: Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today advocated legislation on pricing and usage of water, saying water is a major issue of concern than the power crisis.

''How are you going to price water for its efficient usage?'' Mr Ahluwalia raised the query for the chief ministers of the northern states, who gathered at the 'Chief Ministers' Conclave- North Indian Common Economy (NICE)' here.

The excess demand of water was fed by ''artificially set low price'', he said while raising the issue at the conclave, which was attended by the chief ministers of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and the ministers represententing their respective states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

He, however, said pricing water was not a simple solution as its optimum usage had to be rationalised and monitored.

Mr Ahluwalia said people were casually drawing the ground water in their territories, whether agriculture fields or industrial and domestic units, without any monitoring in absence of a legal point of view.

Pointing out the water disputes among the states, he said the sharing of river waters be resolved amicably, considering the prevailing and the changed circumstances.

On the power scenario, he said the Union government was still struggling with the power crisis which was a ''complicated subject''.

Urging the states to rationalise the tax structure, with uniformity in the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime as one of the steps, he said there had to be an ''essence of economic cooperation'' in the region.

''I know rationalising the tax structure is a difficult task but we (Centre) will be able to evolve a strategy in two-three years to create a benchmark what the state should do,'' he said.

There would be more transparency and corruption would go down by rationalising the tax structure, he added.

UNI