Haryana to get 47% of water from Lakhwar Dam: Khattar

Water issues in Haryana will get "resolved" after the state starts getting 47 per cent of the allocated water supply from the Lakhwar Dam in Uttarakhand. Chief ministers of six states are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre on the construction of the long pending dam project on Tuesday.

Speaking on the issue, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, "The state of Haryana will be allocated 47 per cent of water from the dam, and the rest 53 per cent will be given to the five other states. I firmly believe that the water-related issues in the state can be addressed once we start getting the allocated percentage of water from the dam."

Besides Khattar, the five other chief ministers who will sign the MoU include Uttarakhand Chief Minister TS Rawat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Khattar further said that the people of Haryana have long been suffering because of inadequate drinking water and electricity problem. "The Lakhwar dam will help address the issues one by one," Khattar added.

In 1976, the Planning Commission had approved the construction of the dam near Lohari village of Uttarakhand at 204 meter height for the purpose of irrigation and electricity generation. However, the construction was halted in 1992 due to the paucity of funds.