"Indus Water Pact Suspension Must Be Utilised": Punjab Amid Water Row With Haryana

The opportunity of the Indus Water Treaty Suspension must be duly utilised to fulfil the water needs of Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said, as he held a meeting with his Haryana counterpart Nayab Saini to resolve the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) dispute. 

The recent decision by the Centre to suspend the Indus Water Treaty opens up the possibility of greater utilisation of water from the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) within Indian territory, Mr Mann said, referring to the suspension of the pact with Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Punjab, which is currently facing groundwater depletion, must be prioritised in any future strategies for the usage, diversion, or allocation of river waters, he added. 

The Chief Minister mooted the idea of Yamuna-Satluj Link (YSL) canal instead of Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project. "Haryana and Punjab are brothers. Now this fight should end. There has always been politics over the matter. Both the states have been fighting for 2 MF water, but if the canal comes from Kashmir, we will get 23 MF water," he said. 

The controversial 1981 water-sharing agreement came into being after Haryana was carved out of Punjab in 1966.

For effective allocation of water, SYL canal link was conceptualised. A stretch of 214 km SYL was set to be built, of which 122 km were to be in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana.

In 2004, the then Congress government of the state came out with the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act with an intention to terminate the 1981 agreement and all other pacts relating to sharing of waters of rivers Ravi and Beas.

The Supreme Court had first decreed the suit of Haryana in 2002 asking Punjab to honour its commitments with regard to water sharing in the case.

Punjab challenged the verdict by filing a suit which was rejected in 2004 by the Supreme Court.

During the meeting that was convened by Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil, Mr Mann reiterated that Punjab has no spare water to share with any other state and there was no question of sharing even a single drop of water with anyone. Most of the state's blocks are overexploited, and the groundwater situation in the state is dire, he said.

The Chief Minister said the SYL canal is an 'emotive issue' and that Punjab will face serious law and order problems, which will escalate into a national issue, with Haryana and Rajasthan also being affected. 

He and Mr Saini, however, express confidence that the dispute will be resolved soon. The next meeting is scheduled to be held on August 5.

Mr Saini said a meaningful discussion took place in a cordial atmosphere in the meeting. He said Mr Mann acknowledged that this issue should be resolved, as it has remained pending for far too long. 

Mr Saini also said that Punjab and Haryana are like brothers, and even today, they share a common space with mutual respect and harmony. Discussions in the next meeting are expected to lead to a better solution and yield positive results, he said.

The meeting was also attended by Union Secretary Debashree Mukherjee, Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary of Irrigation and Water Resources Department Anurag Aggarwal, along with several senior officials from the Irrigation Department. 

Meanwhile, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre should now move ahead from such meetings. "The (top) court had handed over the responsibility of getting Haryana's share of water to the central government. The BJP is in power both in Haryana and at the Centre. In such a situation, Haryana should have got its share of water by now. But due to BJP's anti-Haryana attitude, this could not happen. Now, if the government is talking about it, then it should directly file a contempt of court case," he said.

Indian National Lok Dal MLA Rania Arjun Chautala accused Mr Mann of doing politics over the issue. "Water is a natural resource over which the entire country has rights, not just of a state. SYL is the lifeline of Haryana. Haryana's right. Haryana should get water. The central government should resolve the water sharing issue," he said.