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Punjab CM seeks fresh river water tribunal
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SME Times News Bureau | 15 Jun, 2019
Expressing concern over the water crisis in north India, Punjab Chief
Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday sought Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's support for upgradation of his state's water distribution
infrastructure, while calling for a fresh river waters tribunal to
address inter-state disputes.
The Chief Minister, in his speech
circulated at the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting which he could
not attend owing to indisposition, also called upon the Prime Minister
to provide a one-time debt waiver to mitigate the distress of indebted
farmers.
State Finance Minister Manpreet Badal represented Punjab at the meeting.
The
Chief Minister urged the Centre to increase the annual assistance under
PM-KISAN from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 per farmer, and to also include
farm workers in its sweep. He also thanked the NITI Aayog for
acknowledging the state's "Pani Bachao, Paisa Kamao" initiative.
Another
significant issue raised by the Chief Minister related to assistance
for proper development of Punjab's border areas, which, he said, was a
national responsibility.
Amarinder Singh regretted that the
Centre had not taken any action on the state's similar demand, for a
special package for border areas, raised in the last two meetings.
He
demanded increase in the deployment of paramilitary forces along the
Punjab border as well as special financial assistance package for
upgradation of police in the border areas, where it formed the second
line of defence.
He also called for greater inter-state cooperation to effectively tackle cross-border crimes.
Meanwhile,
in a letter to Prime Minister Modi, the Chief Minister said that
Punjab, in particular, was witnessing an alarming degree of
over-utilization of ground water, mainly due to the extensive
cultivation of paddy which supports national food security.
He
cited estimates of the Central Ground Water Authority that the
over-utilization of underground water in Punjab had risen to an alarming
level of 168 per cent of the recharge.
Further, the canal
irrigation system in Punjab, which forms the bedrock of the state's
agriculture, was showing signs of ageing, indicated by reduced water
carrying capacity and longer maintenance periods, he added.
To
address and mitigate this imminent water crisis, the state government
was taking several urgent measures to reduce consumption of water,
conserve water, improve the efficiency of water utilization, and improve
water infrastructure in the state, he said.
Several schemes had
been framed by the state government and presented to the Centre for
assistance under its flagship programmes, he said, urging the Centre to
provide the maximum possible funding for all these comprehensive
projects, beginning with the current financial year 2019-20.
Amarinder Singh hoped that appropriate provisions would be made in the Budget to be presented in July.
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