Sirsa:
The Sirsa MP and Former Union Minister Kumari Selja pressed the Centre to initiate work on the proposed Yamuna-Ghaggar Link under the National River Interlinking Programme, saying the project could transform water management in Haryana by addressing recurring floods, irrigation shortages and drinking water scarcity.
Speaking during a high-level meeting convened by the Union Jal Shakti Ministry at Haryana Bhawan to review the “Jal Jeevan Mission” and the state’s water resources, Kumari Selja said Haryana was facing an alarming water crisis, with 14 districts struggling with inadequate drinking water supply while thousands of farmers continued to suffer due to insufficient canal irrigation.
She said the success of the Jal Jeevan Mission should be measured not by the number of pipelines laid but by whether every household receives a regular supply of clean and safe drinking water. She urged the Centre and the Haryana Government to jointly conduct a comprehensive assessment of drinking water sources, canal infrastructure, water treatment facilities, groundwater levels and water quality in water-stressed districts.
Highlighting what she described as Haryana’s “water paradox”, Selja said large quantities of monsoon water flow out of the state every year, often causing floods, while western and southern districts such as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar and adjoining regions continue to face severe shortages of drinking and irrigation water.
To bridge this imbalance, she urged the Union Government to undertake a detailed technical and environmental feasibility study for linking the Yamuna with the Ghaggar River. She proposed that surplus monsoon water from the Yamuna be diverted through a technically viable link, canal or channel into the Ghaggar basin after preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR).
According to Kumari Selja, such a project would substantially reduce flood risks while making additional water available for irrigation, groundwater recharge and long-term water storage in western Haryana. She said the proposal could become a game-changer for farmers in Sirsa, Fatehabad and neighbouring districts that routinely face water shortages.
The Congress leader also demanded that Otu Lake in Sirsa be developed as a permanent “Water Bank” for western Haryana. She said the reservoir’s storage capacity had declined considerably due to decades of silt accumulation and called for scientific desilting, deep excavation and restoration of the lake.
Referring to land acquired for the lake project during 1964-65, Kumari Selja sought a fresh technical and revenue survey to ascertain the present status of the acquired land and place the findings in the public domain. She urged the Centre and the Haryana Government to jointly prepare a dedicated Otu Lake Revival and Water Storage Project so that surplus monsoon water flowing through the Ghaggar could be stored and utilised during dry months for irrigation and other essential needs.
She further demanded scientific rejuvenation of the Ghaggar River, including desilting, strengthening of embankments and enhancement of its carrying capacity from Panchkula and Ambala to Fatehabad and Sirsa. She said such measures would reduce flood damage while improving the river’s overall efficiency. Kumari Selja also stressed that Haryana must receive its full allocated share of Bhakra waters and called for a review of the existing canal distribution network to ensure optimum utilisation of available water. Wherever infrastructural deficiencies restrict water flow, she said, canal capacity should be expanded and the distribution system modernised.
Seeking the revival of the historic Sirsa Branch Canal linked to the Western Yamuna Canal system, Selja called for a comprehensive engineering survey followed by repairs, reconstruction and capacity enhancement of canals, minors and distributaries.
She underlined that merely releasing water into canals was not sufficient unless it reached the tail-end villages and farmers. Regular monitoring, prevention of water theft and leakages, and the use of modern technology, she said, were essential to ensure equitable distribution across the canal network.
Concluding her intervention, Kumari Selja said Haryana’s recurring floods, drinking water shortages and irrigation problems should no longer be treated as separate challenges but addressed through a single integrated water management policy. She said the Yamuna-Ghaggar Link, revival of Otu Lake, optimum utilisation of Bhakra waters, strengthening of the Ghaggar River, modernisation of the Sirsa Branch canal system and assured water supply till the tail-end should together form the foundation of Haryana’s long-term water security strategy.
“The floodwater that flows away every monsoon can become Haryana’s greatest water resource if managed scientifically. It can strengthen irrigation, improve drinking water availability, recharge groundwater and secure the future of coming generations,” Kumari Selja said while urging the Union Government to prepare a joint action plan with the Haryana Government.
