punjab-haryana-water-dispute-mainly-about-political-posturing

The water “dispute” between Punjab and Haryana is more about political posturing than any serious differences or confrontation between the two states. People at the grassroots level, who are supposed to be the most affected, are mostly indifferent to the issue.

 

There is a pattern to the water issue that gets raised from time to time between the congenital twins. Punjab and Haryana got separated in 1966 after the Akalis forced the division of the state along the linguistic lines to carve out an exclusively Punjabi-speaking state. The “water dispute” also started since then.

 

The current phase of the “dispute” was triggered after Haryana demanded, what Punjab claims, extra share of water over and above its “allocated share”. No government or chief minister in Punjab can ever afford to “concede” a single drop of “extra” water to Haryana, lest he writes his own political obituary. Every chief minister has always taken a firm and stringent stand against it. At least every chief minister has made himself “to be seen as” the saviour of Punjab waters and having adopted a strong pro-Punjab stance.

 

Bhagwant Mann precisely did the same thing. He went an extra mile to deploy security personnel at the Bhakra Dam from where water is released. The control room is guarded by the Punjab Police round the clock lest someone “steals” the water from it. That is natural optics during such posturing. 

 

Mann is not the first Chief Minister to do that. Nor would he be the last one. Amarinder Singh, a former Punjab Chief Minister who was then with the Congress took the legislative route by repealing all water sharing agreements with the neighbouring states. He is now with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

 

Amarinder at that time did not have any option as the Supreme Court of India had set a deadline for Punjab to start construction of the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal. The only option for him, he was advised, was to bring in a law, which he did. Haryana was scheduled to go for elections later. This put the Congress in an awkward situation.

 

The then Congress president Sonia Gandhi was so angry and annoyed with him that she did not speak to him for about nine months, nor did she grant him any audience. When she finally met him and asked why he did not discuss it with her beforehand, he reportedly told her that had he discussed it with her, she would not have allowed it. The Punjab Congress government decision did not have any impact on Haryana elections as Congress won there with a thumping majority.

 

A similar situation emerged in 2016 also. That time it was the Akali-BJP government in the tenth year of its unbroken tenure. Since the legislative option had already been exhausted by Amarinder, the Akali-BJP government decided to break the embankments of the parts of the SYL which had been constructed long back. The government also restored land to the original owners’ form whom it had been acquired over three decades ago.

 

If the Congress and the Akalis can go to such an extent, how can the AAP and more so Bhagwant Mann be seen remaining far behind?

 

In the past during the regimes of Amarinder and Badal, the matter was actually really serious; that of the construction of the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal, which has legal and political implications. That time the Supreme Court was involved. This time, however, the issue is about releasing of “additional” water, which Haryana claims is its rightful due, while Punjab maintains that the state had already consumed more than what it is its rightful due. Moreover, Haryana right now, is demanding water for drinking purposes only.

 

When it comes to the issue of water no political party or leader in the respective states can afford to be seen going soft. The example of the Badal family in Punjab and the Chautala family in Haryana is a classic one. The two families are very close and their elders have enjoyed brotherly relations like the real kindred. However, when it comes to “safeguarding” the interests of the respective states, they take hostile and confrontationist positions. 

 

Interestingly, while the AAP government right now, is understandably taking an uncompromising position on the water, as it does not have any other option, a few years ago, the then AAP RS member and in charge of Haryana Sushil Gupta threw a bombshell saying that in 2025 there will be an AAP government in Haryana which will work in close coordination with the AAP government in Punjab and get the SYL constructed. That was hallucination at its imaginary extreme, without understanding the ground realities and possible implications. But no politician in Haryana, no matter which party s/he belongs to can speak in any other language.

 

Same reciprocity is exhibited in abundance in Punjab also. It is just a coincidence that right now it is the BJP government in Haryana and also at the Centre and the AAP is trying to accuse BJP of being unfair to Punjab. There was a time when it was the Congress led UPA government at the Centre and the Congress governments in both Haryana and Punjab. Even then no resolution could be brought out. And no resolution can ever be brought out.

 

There will only be political posturing. Nothing much is going to change. Haryana also knows that it will be next to impossible to get any extra water from Punjab. But that does not deter the Haryana government from raising the issue from time to time. As parts of state are faced with water shortage there, the government will need to be seen “doing something”.

 

Also read: Waqf: An audit of accountability

Haryana, right now has an added advantage in the Bhakra Beas Management Board, which is unfair and unjust to Punjab. All assets controlled by the BBMB are divided in the ratio of 60:40 between Punjab and the other states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. But when it comes to the voting, each state has one equal vote. If and when other states decide to go together against Punjab, it gets isolated which has happened right now, when the management of the BBMB has been reorganised much to the disadvantage of Punjab.

 

Punjab is accusing the central government of unfairly supporting Haryana, after it “advised” Punjab to release additional water to Haryana for drinking purposes. While the Centre is supposed to facilitate the settlement of disputes between different states, it will not only need to ensure balance but will also “need to be seen” being fair to each and every concerned state.

 

Interestingly, the water sharing “dispute” between Punjab and Haryana has always remained confined to the political class of the two respective states. Common people, particularly the peasantry, in both the states have never expressed any hostility against each other. The bonhomie was best displayed when the farmers from Punjab were hosted by their Haryana counterparts, along the Delhi border for about a year during the anti-farm law protests. Even now, if there is a referendum among the people of the two states, they will favour a consensual and mutual settlement instead of hostile political posturing.