Uttarakhand to emulate Vajpayee's river-linking project

Inter-linking of rivers, the dream project of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has been taken up in Congress-ruled Uttarakhand by Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

Chairing a meeting on the status of water resources in Dehradun on Tuesday, the chief minister issued instructions to study the possibility of linking rivers in the state.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) immediately welcomed the decision. "We welcome any decision to link rivers because it was the dream project of our leader Vajpayee ji," said Ajay Bhatt, leader of opposition.

"A new water policy will soon be implemented in Uttarakhand with emphasis on preservation of its water resources and their controlled use," said Rawat.

Rawat also directed the irrigation, forest and other water-related departments to jointly work out a new plan which puts emphasis on reviving the rivers of the state and devising water preservation schemes in villages.

Rawat said a state-level policy planning group consisting of experts from different fields would be set up which will prepare schemes meant for the social and economic development of Uttarakhand.

Last year, the government had decided to set up a water regulatory commission to decide the tariffs of water.

Meanwhile, the government has also asked the Payjal Nigam to complete all the under-construction water supply schemes in view of the water scarcity in the state. There are 15-16 water supply schemes which are still pending at various stages.

However, the move to integrate all departments which deal with water resources in the state is not yet on the agenda of the government.

Though the government had accepted the key recommendations of the planning commission to bring all these departments under a single administrative umbrella, the former BJP government had shelved plans to merge two key departments - Payjal Nigam and Jal Sansthan - under the pressure of their employees.

"The process of integration of these two departments requires the approval of the chief minister," said an official of the state planning commission. There are six departments in Uttarakhand at present dealing with water resources but working under different administrative control in the government.