UP demands probe into spending on Bansagar Dam construction

Agitated over Madhya Pradesh not releasing water from Bansagar Dam over Sone river to Uttar Pradesh, state Irrigation Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav today demanded proper account of spendings on construction of dam and a probe into it.
Addressing a press conference here, the UP minister gave a detailed account of how the state has already cleared its share in construction cost of the dam, which is a shared project of UP, MP and Bihar, and yet has not got a single drop of water from it.
Referring to his meeting with Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti in New Delhi on Thursday, Yadav said, "I have asked the Union Minister to conduct an inquiry by an impartial agency on where the money has been spent and how the price has escalated. Give us an account. It is a shared project of UP, MP and Bihar."

The cost of the project has risen manifold and the MP government has not given any account into how the funds have been spent, he said.
Charging the Principal Secretary of Madhya Pradesh government with purposely getting water from the dam stopped for Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said, "I had told the Union Minister that if we do not get water we will get FIR registered against MP officials."
There is an assurance from Central government that water will be released though it has not been done till now, the minister added.

Releasing a letter from Anuj Kumar Bishnoi, Secretary in Union Water Resources and River Development Ministry to Anthony JC DeSa, Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, Yadav said, "Centre has also agreed that since we have already paid 90 per cent of the cost as per their estimate of our share we should get our legitimate share of water.

"Since a significant portion of the construction cost, as worked by MP (approximately 90 per cent), has already been paid by the UP government towards its share of the same, unilaterally depriving UP of its legitimate share of water does not appear justified," the letter states.
Water from the dam is meant for water scarce Mirzapur and Allahabad region, Yadav pointed out.
To a question whether UP which was supplying water for certain MP projects would also follow suit, the minister replied that something as essential as water should not be stopped but "if they (MP) continue to maintain their stand, UP will have to follow them out of compulsion.