Narayan Rane opposes Shankaracharya's views on Centre's Indus Waters Treaty decision

Mumbai: Former Union minister Narayan Rane on Sunday disagreed with Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati's remarks questioning India's capacity to halt Indus river water flow and asserted security-related decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi post the Pahalgam attack must not be debated publicly.

Twenty-six persons were gunned down by terrorists in Pahalgam in Kashmir's Anantnag district on April 22, following which the Centre took a host of measures to punish Pakistan, including keeping the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in abeyance.

"We do respect him, but the decision has been taken for security reasons. Nobody is bigger than the country," Rane said referring to the Shankaracharya's viral video message.

The spiritual leader had claimed India lacks infrastructure to divert or retain Indus water and asserted that building such facilities could take two decades.

In the video message, Saraswati dubbed the Centre's move on the treaty as "fooling people".

Under the World Bank-brokered treaty, India was granted exclusive rights to the water of the eastern rivers -- the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi -- amounting to an average annual flow of about 33 million acre-feet (MAF). The water of the western rivers -- the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab -- with an average annual flow of around 135 MAF, were largely allocated to Pakistan.

With the treaty now put in abeyance, the government is looking at ways to utilise the water of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

Speaking about local issues Rane outlined development plans for Sindhudurg district.

He said he would be holding talks with industrialists Gautam Adani, Sajjan Jindal and others to establish 500 manufacturing units on a 1,000-1,200-acre plot near Dodamarg, the smallest taluka in Sindhudurg.

"This will create one lakh jobs and increase the district's per capita income from Rs 2.50 lakh to over Rs 3 lakh," he said, adding that residents should diversify into agri-business and marketing.

Addressing concerns about the proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway connecting Nagpur and Sindhudurg, Rane said he would support the farmers if compensation issues crop up.

"If fertile land is acquired without fair compensation, I will stand with farmers," he said assessing potential impacts on the Sahyadri Tiger Corridor and wildlife habitats.