Gerukamukh: India should have a water treaty with China even as the country plans to build dams in the highly seismic zone of North-East to retain the water of Brahmaputra river in the region, senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday.
"China has a policy for diverting rivers to its southern region. It affects the rivers here. Congress-led UPA government should protest this. If UPA government has the good intention to retain the water of Brahmaputra here, then India should go for an international water treaty with China in an international forum," Singh said.
Addressing a BJP public rally against big dams in Dhemaji district, BJP`s former president also said India should have a diplomatic policy with China on water for safeguarding the rivers coming here through the neighboring country.
Criticizing big dams in NE, Singh said, "No big dam should be built in this earthquake-prone zone. This area has a history of earthquakes. An earthquake devastated the area in 1950. Experts are against bag dams here."
"Only multi-purpose dams that benefit people should be constructed here. There is no need to construct dams for power generation only. Centre should give permission for multi-purpose dams only," he said.
"Of the 168 dams to be constructed in Arunachal Pradesh, 32 are big dams. There should be no big dam in Arunachal Pradesh which falls in a seismic zone. Only small dams could be built here. Congress is in power in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Centre should discuss with these states and stop the big dams," he said.
PTI
