In Rajya Sabha, Digvijaya says Jal Shakti ministry failed to utilise its funds

Initiating debate in the Rajya Sabha on the working of the Jal Shakti ministry, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh Monday criticised the government for under-utilising allocated funds.

“You promised to bring pipe water to each household by 2024. At this rate, it will not happen,” Singh said. He also referred to the Standing Committee report on Water Resources for 2019-2020, which flagged that the ministry had been unable to spend its funds.

DMK lawmaker M Shanmugam said the central government had failed to uphold the rights of upper-riparian states. “This has led to states fighting each other,” he said, talking about Tamil Nadu’s interstate dispute with Karnataka over the Cauvery water sharing.

BJP MP Gopal Narayan Singh defended the performance of the ministry. “Visit any village, you will see pipelines. Every village is working towards providing potable water,” he said. Singh also pointed that the lacunae in working are mostly in opposition-ruled states, such as Delhi.

The Rajya Sabha on Monday also passed the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2019. The bill declares the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli, and the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology, Thanjavur, as institutes of national importance. The bill also established a Board of Governors to act as the principal executive body of the institutes.