Chandigarh, July 13 (IANS) In a war of words over water, Haryana Monday accused Delhi of being “wasteful” and “extravagant” in using water.
It also accused Delhi of delaying - apparently “deliberately” - acquisition of land and its hand-over to Haryana for making a 600-metre carrier-lined channel that would meet the capital’s water shortage.

“Delhi Jal Board authorities keep on demanding two to three times of their share of water under various pretexts, and then use it extravagantly. The per capita water consumption of about 200 litres per day in Delhi is the highest in the country,” officials of the Haryana irrigation department said here Monday.

The officials said that in certain districts of Haryana like Jhajjar, Rewari, Mahendergarh and Bhiwani, the per capita availability of water was not even 45 litres per day.

Haryana authorities even threatened to cut water supply to Delhi if its wasteful use was not stopped.

“Only 25 percent of the effluents in Delhi was recycled and rest was discharged into the Yamuna river and into the canals, which feed Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. This is not desirable,” a Haryana government spokesman said here.

“If the construction of Okhla pipeline and treatment plant is not stopped, Haryana would have no choice but to make reduction in supplies at Wazirabad to prevent this illegal diversion of water. As per the court orders, this water had to be supplied at the cost of drinking water, to the arid districts of Haryana,” the spokesman said.

Haryana’s strong reaction on the water controversy came after Delhi Jal Board officials accused the state of not supplying adequate water to the national capital, causing water scarcity in many areas there.

The Haryana spokesman said there has been serious delay on the part of Delhi authorities in acquiring land in Delhi territory for a 600-metre carrier-lined channel. Land for the channel is still to be acquired by Delhi and handed over to Haryana, without which Delhi cannot expect Haryana to complete the channel, he added.

“Delhi is nowhere near the completion of this pipeline and the delay appears to be deliberate,” the spokesman said.