In the midst of a water-sharing dispute between Punjab and Haryana, the Punjabi government, led by CM Bhagwant Mann, passed a resolution in the state assembly on Monday promising not to share any more water with Haryana. A special session called to discuss the ongoing dispute over water sharing resulted in the passage of this resolution.
Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal stated when introducing the resolution, “The Punjab government will not provide Haryana with a single drop of water from its share.In response to a request on April 6, 4000 cusecs of drinking water were recently provided to Haryana as a humanitarian gesture; however, the resolution stated that no more water would be supplied. Haryana’s demand, had abruptly increased to 8500 cusecs, much more than the planned 1700 cusecs required for consuming along with other basic necessities for its 3 crore citizens.Goyal emphasised Punjab’s growing reliance on canal water as a result of the state government’s work over the previous three years, stating that the percentage of fields irrigated by canals has grown to about 60% today from 22% in 2021.For this reason, Punjab has learnt to cherish every drop of its wate. According to Goyal, the state has run out of water to donate to other states.
The resolution condemned the 1981 water-sharing arrangement between the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan for the Satluj, Ravi, and Beas rivers, which was founded on an evaluation of the water supply in these rivers at the time.The resolution stated, “Satluj, Ravi and Beas rivers pass through only Punjab. For what reason are other states receiving water? The amount of water in the rivers listed in the agreement and the amount of water distributed among states was significantly greater than the actual amount of water currently available in these rivers in 1981, when the accord to share the water of these rivers was signed between the states.
The sharing of these rivers’ water should therefore be the subject of a new agreement.Additionally, the Dam Safety Act of 2021, which grants the federal government additional authority over state-owned dams, was denounced in the resolution. Punjab has demanded the swift repeal of the law, viewing it as an assault on its sovereignty.
Partap Singh Bajwa, a Congress leader, endorsed the resolution, stating that the Congress and the state government are united in their defence of Punjab’s rights, regardless of political differences.
