Malik, Gadkari, Dr Jitendra chair high-level meet
To be diverted to Haryana, Punjab, R’sthan
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 12: The Central and State Governments today decided to block 531 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) water which would have flown to Pakistan with the construction of Ujh Multipurpose Project and divert it to Punjab, Haryana and, if possible, even to Rajasthan with the construction of canals.
A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik and attended among others by Union Minister for Surface Transport and Water Resources, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh and top officials from J&K and the Central Government today.
“The officials of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Central Governments will give a final touch to the proposal in another meeting scheduled to be held on February 14 in the Union capital so that Ujh Multipurpose Project is launched well before the imposition of Model Code of Conduct by the end of February or start of March,” official sources told the Excelsior.
It may be mentioned here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to lay foundation stone of Ujh project along with other projects from Jammu during his visit to the State on February 3 but it was taken off from Modi’s schedule after top officials working on the project discovered that out of 781 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) water that the project was scheduled to generate, 531 MCM would have flown to Pakistan as Kathua and surroundings had the capacity to get 250 MCM water only.
Dr Jitendra Singh, whose Parliamentary constituency of Kathua is set to benefit immensely in terms of irrigation with construction of canal and power generation from Ujh project, took up the matter with both Central and State Governments after which the high-level meeting was held today in New Delhi, which was attended by Satya Pal Malik, Nitin Gadkari, Dr Jitendra Singh, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, Housing and Urban Development Department Administrative Secretary, Dheeraj Gupta, Union Water Resources Secretary, UP Singh and other senior officers.
“After threadbare discussions, it has been decided that a roadmap would be devised immediately to block flow of 531 MCM water to Pakistan after construction of the project and instead spread this water to neighbouring State of Punjab followed by Haryana and, if possible, even up to Rajasthan as it has been observed that only 250 MCM water would reach Kathua and surroundings,” sources said.
They added that the officers of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Central Governments have been asked to devise strategy to facilitate use of surplus water by three Indian States of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan and prevent its flow to Pakistan. The officers would meet in New Delhi on February 14 and finalize the strategy.
Pointing out that both Central and State Governments want foundation laying of Ujh project before imposition of Model Code of Conduct, which is likely by the end of February or start of March, sources said the officials have been asked to devise the strategy keeping the deadline in mind.
The Centre as well as State Governments were confident that foundation stone of Ujh project would be laid well before the Model Code of Conduct is imposed to give pace to the project and ensure its completion within stipulated time of six years (from the day the project is launched). Total cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 5850 crore, of which Rs 4919.94 crore is irrigation component and rest is the construction cost.
Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Ujh had been cleared in January 2018. The project was lingering on for past more than 25 years and all previous Governments in Jammu and Kashmir didn’t take any initiative to start the project.
Commenting on today’s meeting in New Delhi, Dr Jitendra Singh said Ujh Multipurpose Project has been pending for past more than 25 years and its benefits like irrigation of land etc have been denied to large population of Kathua district and surroundings by the previous Government.
Dr Jitendra Singh said with today’s initiative by the Centre and State Governments hopefully, the projects would be launched within the next few days.
It may be mentioned here that work on Shahpur Kandi Project has already started and will be completed in three years.
The high-level meeting of Central and State Government officials also reviewed various other projects, which are being undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir with the help of Central Government.
The meeting discussed the status of approvals on Chenani-Sudhmahadev Road and Jammu-Akhnoor Road. It was mentioned that more than 90% of the land for both stands handed over to NHIDCL, which has assured that the work on these two roads will be taken up this month. The meeting also discussed various issues related to prestigious Jammu & Srinagar Ring Roads, Zojila and Z Morh tunnels and took decisions for their speedy implementation.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
