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dam-l LS: India Minister for Water Press Statement, Dec. 22, 1999.

>NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL TO MEET SOON TO CONSIDER
>       REVISED NATIONAL WATER POLICY DRAFT FOR APPROVAL
>
>    Union Minister for Water Resources, Dr. C.P.Thakur has announced
>that National Water
>Resources Council will meet soon under the Chairmanship of Prime
>Minister to consider
>Revised National Water Policy Draft and the guidelines framed for
>allocation of water among
>the States for approval. The Chief Ministers of all the States and Union
>Ministers of concerned
>Departments are the members of National Water Resources Council.
>
>    While addressing the media persons here today, the Minister has said
>that the World Bank
>funded water resources consolidation projects will be taken up in the
>States of Uttar Pradesh,
>Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. These projects will be cost effective and
>certain amount of the
>cost will be recovered within three to four years after the projects
>come into being.
>
>    As regards flood control in the Gangetic basin rivers of Bihar,
>Eastern U.P. and North
>Bengal, India will have the dialogue with Nepal. Ministry’s office at
>Kathmandu has already
>started functioning. Regarding the flood control in Brahmaputra river
>basin of Assam, India will
>initiate talks with Bhutan and China.
>
>    Tehri Dam construction will be completed by 2003 and the people of
>Delhi will thereafter
>get 300 cusecs of water from the dam everyday.
>
>    Centre will give top most priority to resettlement of displaced
>persons of the dam projects.
>Only after the settlement of displaced persons is over, the dam
>completion work will be taken
>up. As regards Narmada Dam issue, the Centre is awaiting award which is
>expected by the
>first week of February next year. After all the four States of
>Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra
>and Madhya Pradesh agreed to the award the Centre will act fast towards
>completion of the
>project.
>
>    It is expected that by 2050 the population of India will be about
>164 crore necessitating 450
>Million Tonnes of food requirement. In order to feed such a large
>population, it is essential that
>apart from high technology, production of foodgrains and assured water
>for irrigation and
>drinking is made available. This can be possible only from high-rise
>dams which have high
>storage capacity.
>
>    Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Smt. Bijoya
>Chakravarty, Union Water
>Resources Secretary, Shri Z.A.Hasan also addressed the media persons.
>