Rajasthan seeks PM-headed panel to resolve inter-state water deals

New Delhi, May 29 (UNI) Rajasthan government today demanded constitution of a Prime Minister headed panel to resolve disputes relating to the state's share in the waters of Ravi, Beas and Yamuna rivers.

Stating that '' Rajasthan has not received its due share of water from various inter-state agreements,'' Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje sought expeditious resolution of such disputes to enable the desert state create additional irrigation potential of about ten lakh hectares.

Raising the demand at a meeting of the National Development Council here, she said '' these issues...... should be expeditiously decided by an apex body under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.'' The Punjab government, while abrogating water-sharing agreement with Haryana a few years ago, had, however, guaranteed the quantum of flow of waters from Ravi and Beas rivers to neighbouring Rajasthan and Haryana that prevailed before the annulment of the agreement.

The dispute relating to it is pending in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan government said second phase of its ' Jal Chetna Yatra ' is being launched from tomorrow for a month to cover about 20,000 villages. The campaign, aimed at educating people about conservation of water, was started last year and covered 18,000 villages in the first phase. It was necessitated by fast depletion of ground water which was being drawn at the rate of 125 per cent of its annual re-charge.

Rajasthan has also prepared a master plan of water harvesting by constructing one-third of 48,000 structures identified by it. The government said 1,26,000 such water harvesting structures, including farm ponds, were constructed by panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and non-govermental organisations (NGOs) last year.

UNI