Chandigarh/New Delhi, March 19
Participating in the ongoing debate on demands related to water resources during the budget session of Parliament, Aam Aadmi Party Lok Sabha member from Sangrur Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer put forward important demands of Punjab. Despite being a riparian state, Punjab did not get its due share of water and after the reorganisation of the state of Punjab, Punjab did not get its due share from the Yamuna River.
Meet Hayer said that drinking water is getting polluted. He said that the entire Malwa region is struggling with clean drinking water and is suffering from cancer. The country's food banks were filled with the Green Revolution, but Punjab had to bear a huge loss. Punjab has completed the Jal Jeevan Mission of supplying water through taps, but the Malwa region needs a supply of canal water for drinking from the Bhakra Canal.
Raising the issue of the outbreak of floods in the Ghaggar River in the Sangrur region, Meet Hayer said that the Ghaggar River should be permanently managed. Work should be done to widen and strengthen the Ghaggar in an area of 17 km from Makrour Sahib to Karail. He said that since the catchment area of this river belongs to Punjab and Haryana, the Center should take the initiative so that the Sangrur region, which is under the impact of the Ghaggar floods, can be saved from it. He further said that de-silting of the dams in the Kandi region should be done, which will reduce the impact of floods by increasing the capacity of the dams and de-silting material will be useful in construction works.
Meet Hayer further said that the groundwater level in Punjab is continuously decreasing and 117 out of 153 blocks have gone into the dark zone. The Standing Committee of Parliament had recommended Punjab to be included in the Atal Bhujal Yojana in 2020-21 as it meets all the criteria, but despite the passage of five years, the state has not been included so far.
The Lok Sabha member further said that under the PM Krishi irrigation Yojana, a project worth Rs 1163 Cr was approved in 2015, under which the Sutlej Canal system was to be renovated and expanded, but so far Punjab has not received any grant under this scheme.