Recommendation based on a draft report on “E-flow for the Delhi section”.
New Delhi:
The Yamuna Oversight Committee, appointed by the National Green Court, recommended reviewing the 1994 water sharing agreement between Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to ensure the environmental flow of the river throughout the year.
The two-member group, consisting of retired NGT expert BS Sajawan and former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra, made the recommendation based on a draft report on “electronic debit for the Delhi section “.
The environmental flow requirement is the “acceptable flow regime required to maintain the river in reasonable or predetermined condition”.
“The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Upper Yamuna River Board and the riparian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi have reworked the water sharing agreement of 1994 to allow the release of the recommended electronic flow at the Hathnikund dam, ”the committee said. .
The report prepared by the National Institute of Hydrology in Roorkee recommended that 23 cumec of water be released at Yamuna from the Hathnikund dam in the Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana instead of 10 cumec in January and February to support downstream ecosystems .
The dam regulates the flow of the river for irrigation in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh through the western and eastern Yamuna canals, and the municipal water supply to Delhi.
The report states that 26 cumec, 29 cumec, 34 cumec and 44 cumec of water are expected to be discharged into the river in March, April, May and June, respectively. Currently, 10 cumecs are released into the river in March, April and May and 18 cumecs in June.
A minimum release of 158 cumec, 220 cumec and 149 cumec is recommended in July, August and September instead of 275 cumec, 298 cumec and 160 cumec, he said.
Based on the report, the panel said that the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Higher Council of the Yamuna River and the riparian states should ensure the release of 44 cumec, 27 cumec and 24 cumec of water into the river from the dam in October, November and December, respectively.
The NIH report also recommended reducing diversions to the Western Yamuna Channel and the Eastern Yamuna Channel by increasing irrigation efficiency in their command areas.
Currently, 78.5 percent and 13 percent of the Hathnikund Dam inputs are diverted to WYC Command and EYC Command during the non-monsoon season. Thus, only 8.5% of incoming flows are discharged into the river.
“Regulate groundwater abstraction in the basin, particularly in the Mawi-Baghpat section and increase groundwater recharge to maintain base flows,” he said.
