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Union Minister CR Paatil announced Centre efforts to divert Indus Water Treaty rivers to curb shortages.
Bikers take pictures at the confluence of rivers Zanskar and Indus near Kargil. (IMAGE: AFP)
Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil on Monday said that the Centre is working to divert water from the rivers under the now-suspended Indus Water Treaty to meet shortages in states.
“We are making every possible effort so that very soon this water is diverted, and the states facing scarcity in our country get water. Farmers there will prosper and people’s water problems will be resolved,” Paatil said while addressing a session during the Aadhar Infra Confluence 2025.
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He, however, said that as the matter has international implications, “the decision taken by PM Narendra Modi is being implemented with the involvement of the Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs. This will bring a major advantage to the country”.
India suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
During the Monday’s event, Paatil highlighted the achievements of the Namami Gange programme. PTI quoted him as saying that despite nearly 60–70 lakh devotees taking a holy dip during the Kumbh, the river remained clean due to the treatment of wastewater.
“From Haridwar to Bengal, 211 sewage treatment plants are operational. Within the next one to one-and-a-half years, major drains like those in Kanpur and Varanasi will also be fully treated, further improving the quality of Ganga water,” he said.
The minister also spoke on the Yamuna cleaning issue and said that AI-powered deployed for cleaning removed water hyacinth within 45 days.
On water conservation, Paatil said that India receives about 4,000 billion cubic metres (bcm) of rainfall annually, while the current requirement is 1,120 bcm, which is projected to rise to 1,180 bcm by 2047. However, the country’s storage capacity is only 750 bcm despite having 6,500 dams.
“Building new dams is not always feasible, as most rivers already have dams or are under construction. It takes 25 years and over Rs 25,000 crore to build one dam, apart from land acquisition challenges and environmental concerns. Can we afford to wait 25 years for water?” he questioned.
The minister pointed that despite such constraints, “in just eight months, 32 lakh water conservation structures were built across 611 districts with public participation and without spending a single rupee from the ministry. Telangana ranked first in this initiative, followed by Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat”.
September 15, 2025, 17:48 IST
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