CM Amarinder Singh convenes all-party meet to tackle water crisis in Punjab

Captain Singh disclosed this in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, on the second day of the two-day special session of the House. He was intervening in a discussion on ' The Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill 2020', introduced by his government. Invitations for the meeting had already been sent out, he disclosed, adding that all matters related to water issues in the state, including the SYL issue, poor quality of ground water and pollution caused by industrial and domestic waste, would also be thoroughly discussed during the all party meeting, in a bid to evolve consensus to chalk out a detailed strategy to address these problems.

The Bill, introduced by Irrigation Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, was later passed by the House unanimously, thus paving the way for the creation of Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority to manage the critical water resource in the state. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supported the Bill, expressing grave concern over the scarce water resources and the depleting ground water table in the state.

During his intervention, in response to certain issues raised by the Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, the Chief Minister flayed the Opposition for their constant criticism of his government on the issue, while themselves failing to contributing in any way to tackling the problem. Pointing out that he and his colleagues had already given up power subsidy for tubewells, Captain Amarinder challenged Opposition leaders to show if any of them had heeded his appeal, yet, to do the same. The appeal, he said, was aimed at ensuring judicious use of groundwater and inculcating the habit of water saving.

Describing the depleting ground water table, and the growing pollution of river water, as serious issues, the Chief Minister reiterated his government’s commitment to resolving the problem, which was particularly acute in the districts of southern Punjab, such as Sri Muktsar Sahib, leading to heavy incidence of cancer.

Citing his visit to Israel to explore ways and means to tackle the problem of water scarcity, the Chief Minister said that the West Asian country was also facing acute crisis and facing exhaustion of its water resources in the next 15 years. He, however, said that Israel had a vast sea in its vicinity , from where they could cater to their country’s water requirement after desalinating the sea water. Unfortunately, Punjab did not have the option and could risk overexploitation of its water resources only if it was prepared to become a desert in the coming years.