Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 16 (HBTV): Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Monday moved a resolution in the Punjab Legislative Assembly during a special session, strongly opposing the Bhakra Beas Management Board's (BBMB) decision to release an additional 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana.
Declaring that 'not a single drop of extra water' will be spared, Goyal accused the BBMB of acting as a 'puppet of the BJP' and conspiring to undermine Punjab's water rights through illegal and unconstitutional means.
Goyal stated that Punjab had already provided 4,000 cusecs of water to Haryana on humanitarian grounds, but no further water would be released from the state's share. He described the BBMB's late-night meeting on April 30 as 'illegal' and an attempt to divert Punjab's rightful share of water to Haryana.
'The 1981 water-sharing treaty is outdated due to reduced water availability. A new treaty is needed,' Goyal said during the session.
He also criticised the Dam Safety Act, 2021, claiming it jeopardises state rights by centralising control over Punjab's rivers. 'The Central government wants direct control. This occupation of Punjab's rivers will not be tolerated,' he said, alleging a conspiracy involving the BJP, Haryana, and BBMB to 'snatch Punjab's rights'.
According to Goyal, Haryana had already exhausted its allocated water share by March 31, and its demand for an additional 8,500 cusecs amounted to a 'robbery of Punjab's land'.
Highlighting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s achievements, Goyal noted that under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s leadership, canal water supply has been extended to 60 per cent of Punjab's agricultural land in recent years. He described this expansion as a 'thorn in BJP’s eyes'.
'The Punjab government has started giving canal water to farmers. Now about 60 per cent of Punjab farmers' fields get canal water. Punjab has already given 4,000 cusecs of water to Haryana even after its water limit was over. But Haryana is demanding more water than this. They called an illegal meeting of BBMB and gave more water to Haryana,' Goyal asserted.
He praised CM Mann for personally visiting Nangal Dam to ensure Punjab’s water rights were safeguarded, calling him a 'custodian of Punjab's rights'.
Goyal revealed that Punjab has filed a legal case against the BBMB’s decision, reiterating that the state has historically sacrificed its land and water to feed the nation. He claimed that 80 per cent of Punjab’s entitled water is currently allocated to non-riparian states, and recalled that during past floods, Haryana and Rajasthan had refused to accept excess water offered by Punjab.
'Punjab fed the country by sacrificing its land and water. But today our water is being looted... 80 per cent of the water that Punjab is entitled to goes to non-riparian states. When the rivers flooded last time and we wanted to give water to Rajasthan and Haryana, they refused to take the water. To deal with floods, we are taking that water from other states,' he said.
The resolution comes in the wake of an all-party meeting held on May 2 under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Mann, amid growing concerns over Punjab's water rights. During the meeting, all parties expressed solidarity against BBMB's decision and affirmed that Punjabis had the right to every drop of Punjab's water, and no one would be allowed to take it away.
(ANI)