Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said his government is considering a proposal to construct a dam 500 metres away from the Hathnikund Barrage, an issue that has seen a slugfest between his state and neighbouring Delhi.
Delhi's AAP government has accused Haryana of releasing too much water from the barrage into the Yamuna, leading to floods in parts of the national capital. In turn, the Haryana government said the barrage in Yamunanagar district is not a reservoir that can hold a large amount of water.
Khattar said the state government is talking with Himachal Pradesh about the proposal to construct the dam, adding it needs two villages. "We may also need the land of two villages of Himachal to build the dam," he said.
The chief minister said things are at a preliminary stage and a survey is being done. At the preliminary level, experts have said a dam can be built, he told reporters here in response to a question.
If such a dam is built, water can be stored there and Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh can get water from it, he said.
Khattar again hit out at the AAP leadership for blaming his state over floods in parts of Delhi.
Asked about AAP's demand that the maintenance of the ITO barrage should be handed over to the Delhi government for more efficient management, Khattar said these are interstate matters.
He said the Wazirabad, ITO and Okhla barrages are with Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
"..There is no use of a blame game, solutions will have to be found mutually. If the blame game continues, it will cause harm to all," he said replying to questions on AAP blaming Haryana for the floods in Delhi.
Khattar refuted the allegations levelled by the opposition that the flood situation in the state was aggravated due to increased mining in the rivers.
He said such statements are illogical.
-With PTI Input
