punjab-refuses-additional-water-to-haryana-rajasthan

Punjab has told the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal that it cannot share any additional water with Haryana and Rajasthan. It said both states are not part of the basin area of these rivers.

 

The stand was presented during the tribunal’s visit to Punjab. The three-member tribunal is headed by Justice Vineet Saran (Retd). The Punjab government hosted the members and arranged visits to main canal headworks in Ferozepur using a government helicopter.

 

Punjab officials stated before the tribunal that only Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir are part of the Ravi and Beas basin. However, Rajasthan still gets 50 per cent of the river waters under the 1955 water-sharing pact. 

 

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann also met the tribunal members in Amritsar. He is said to have highlighted Punjab’s efforts to use river water more efficiently. During a dinner meeting, he said the government was making sure that canal water reaches tail-end farmers to reduce groundwater use and prevent desertification.

 

Water Resources Department officials presented Punjab’s historical position on river water sharing. They said before Partition, undivided Punjab had access to 176.37 million acre-feet (MAF) of water. This has now come down to 15.14 MAF from the eastern rivers of the Indus system after Partition and state reorganisation.

 

Punjab officials also said the state was left out of sharing Yamuna waters despite being part of the inter-state river system. Of the 15.85 MAF water in the Ravi and Beas rivers, Punjab gets 4.22 MAF. However, Rajasthan receives 8.8 MAF and Haryana 3.5 MAF, officials added. They also said Punjab gets only 25 per cent of surplus water and has had to abandon various canals due to low allocations.

 

The tribunal members arrived in Amritsar earlier. They also visited the Luthar Canal system in Ferozepur. Officials highlighted areas allegedly impacted by pollution from effluents discharged by leather factories in Kasur, Pakistan. The delegation later visited Harike to inspect the Rajasthan feeder and Ferozepur feeder canals.