Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the shortage of water has become a critical issue in almost all states of the country in one way or other and to resolve it, the states have to work in tandem by rising above the political considerations.
“Being an elder brother, Punjab should adopt a positive approach for resolving the pending water disputes with Haryana,” Amit Shah said while commenting on the long-pending SYL dispute between the two states.
As the water-sharing disputes dominated the 29th meeting of the northern zonal council here, he said that the Centre Government is committed for resolving all such pending issues. A separate meeting will be convened on these issues, he said.
Speaking at the meeting, Shah also said that the Centre Government has started an exercise for bringing amendments in the provisions of the CRPC and IPC being implemented since the British Rule.
He asked the State Governments to constitute a committee comprising senior IPS officers for sharing their suggestions for the amendments with the Central Government.
The Union Minister said that the Centre Government is soon going to establish a University for Forensic Sciences and asked the State Governments to take initiatives in this direction and open atleast one Forensic Science college affiliated with this university as this will not only help in resolving criminal cases but also generate ample employment avenues for the youth.
He directed the Chief Secretaries that they should be well versed with the figures of the crime in their respective states.
The Central Government has adopted zero tolerance policy against the narcotics cases and each state should take firm steps to keep check on the smuggling of drugs so as that the youth could be saved from the drug menace, he said.
While expressing concerns over the child abuse cases, he said that despite strict laws, the accused in such cases are not convicted even after six months of crime. Therefore all the states should appoint Director Public Prosecutions to assure speedy execution of such cases, he directed.
Shah also asked the states to ensure opening of a bank branch at a distance of every five kms so that the beneficiaries of Direct Benefit Transfer scheme could get the funds deposited directly into their bank accounts.
He urged the Chief Ministers to take up this issue in the state-level bankers committee meetings and also provide them the list of those villages where the bank branches are to be opened.
While congratulating Haryana Government for the successful organization of the meeting of the Northern Zonal Council, he said that besides the pending issues, several new issues have also been discussed in the meeting.
