NEW DELHI, India: ‘The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Devi Lal, urged the Centre to take over the construction of the SYL canal to ensure that work on it was completed by March 31, 1988.
Speaking at the meeting of the national executive for water resources, he said, because of the inordinate delay, the expenditure on the project had risen to Rs. 315 crore from the original estimate of Rs. 45 crores.
Mr. Devi Lal said although Haryana was contributing maximum grain in the national pool it ‘was not getting its due share in the Ravi-Beas waters.
He said the northern states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana and also Delhi, should make full use of their power generating capacity. More than a dozen projects were pending with the Government. He appealed to the Prime Minister to shasten work on these projects.
Mr. Devi Lal said the linking of rivers was @ must in a country which faced drought in one area and floods in the other. He was in favor of the linking of the Ganga and the Yamuna.
He also pleaded for the construction of the Hathni Kund barrage at the earliest.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 25, 1987
