Rajasthan to get its share of Yamuna water as per 1994 agreement: CM Sharma

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Saturday asserted that the state will get its share of Yamuna water as per the allocations specified in the 1994 agreement with Haryana.

Haryana and Rajasthan recently signed an agreement to jointly prepare a detailed project report for the transfer of Rajasthan's share of Yamuna water from Hathnikund in Haryana through underground pipelines and its subsequent utilisation in areas such as Jhunjhunu and Churu.

Addressing public gatherings in Khetri and Kalyanpura in Neem Ka Thana district as a part of the 'Dhanyavad Yatra' for the water sharing agreement, Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that Rajasthan would get its complete share of water and the Memorandum of Understanding was signed accordingly.

 

"This MoU would fulfil the demand of the people of Rajasthan who have waited for the last 30 years. As part of the agreement, the state will get 1,917 cusecs of water from the Yamuna river," he said.

The chief minister said a detailed project report would be prepared soon to implement the water-sharing agreement.

He said Khetari, Shrimadhopur and Neem Ka Thana regions would also get their due share of water under this project.

"This would benefit the entire population, including farmers," he said.

The issue of water sharing has been a point of contention for over two decades since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on May 12, 1994, allocating water shares among co-basin states.

The memorandum of understanding was signed after a meeting between Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the Rajasthan CM on February 17. The meeting was chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Both Haryana and Rajasthan are BJP-ruled states.

Sharma further said the state government was treating the poor and the needy people with utmost sensitivity and welfare schemes would be implemented to fulfil their wishes in a time-bound manner.

"PM Modi feels the pain of poor people. Under his leadership, the state government is working hard to give benefits to vulnerable groups like the poor, farmers, labourers, elderly people and women," Sharma said.