All efforts on to divert water from rivers under IWT to meet shortages in India: Jal Shakti min

New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil on Monday said the government is making all efforts to divert water from the rivers under the now-suspended Indus Water Treaty to meet shortages in Indian states.

He added that the matter has international implications and therefore he would not speak at length, but assured that "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".

"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.

India suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam by Pakistan terrorists on April 22.

Speaking on river rejuvenation, Paatil highlighted the achievements of the Namami Gange programme.

He said 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 noted.

On the Yamuna cleaning issue, the minister said AI-powered boats deployed for cleaning had removed water hyacinth within 45 days. He added that state governments are also working on the river, with support from his ministry.

Paatil underlined that while some private players had shown interest in partnering for river cleaning, the projects did not move forward.

"That is why the government is itself funding this work, including desilting of dams and rivers," he said.

Notices have also been sent to 67 power plants on the Ganga to ensure they use tertiary treated water, with plants being set up accordingly.

Explaining the larger water challenge, the minister said India receives about 4,000 billion cubic metres (bcm) of rainfall annually, while the current requirement is 1,120 bcm, 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 asked.

Paatil pointed out that despite these constraints, water conservation efforts had made significant progress.

"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," he said. PTI UZM HIG