Chandigarh, April 30 (IANS) Amid an escalating water row, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday described his Punjab predecessor Bhagwant Mann’s assertions as surprising and warned, “if less water is supplied to Haryana, the supply of drinking water in the national capital will also be impacted”.
Punjab caps allocation of Bhakra water to Haryana at 4,000 cusecs against 8,500 cusecs decided by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) technical committee.
CM Saini said at this time, the issue is not about the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal water, it is about drinking water. “Every year in April, May and June, 9,000 cusecs of water is supplied by BBMB to Haryana,” he said.
Describing CM Mann’s statement that Haryana has already used its share of drinking water in March is beyond facts, CM Saini said, adding that in the past one week, Haryana has received only 4,000 cusecs of drinking water, which is about 60 per cent of the state’s total demand.
“As long as there was an Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, the Mann government in Punjab had no objection to the water going to Delhi. Now there is no Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, so why is Mann Sahib making such statements to punish the people of Delhi?” CM Saini said.
The technical team of the BBMB, comprising chief engineers of all the partner states, on April 23, decided that 8,500 cusecs of water be provided for seven days to Haryana. “Punjab officials are showing reluctance in implementing the decision taken by the technical committee to release water to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. It’s in our culture that if any person comes to our house, we welcome them by offering them water. Rise above party politics and provide drinking water to Haryana,” CM Saini appealed.
Asserting that the BJP is playing a “dirty game” to release excess water to Haryana, Punjab CM Mann on Tuesday said they will not allow it to succeed in its nefarious designs against the state. He asked the Union government to divert waters of the Chenab, Jhelum, Ujh and other rivers to northern states to cater to the needs owing to the onset of the paddy season, with the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan.
CM Mann said Haryana has used 103 per cent of its allocated water, and now the BJP (in the Centre) is pressurising Punjab to release more water to Haryana.
Refuting Punjab’s claims, CM Saini said, “It seems Bhagwant Mann conveniently ignored the fact that during the years 2022, 2023 and 2024, Haryana consistently received no less than 9,000 cusecs of water at the contact point in April, May and June.”
The Haryana CM further clarified that the water released by the BBMB includes 500 cusecs for Delhi’s drinking water, 800 cusecs for Rajasthan, and 400 cusecs for Punjab itself. “Thus, the actual quantity of water received by Haryana remains only 6,800 cusecs,” he said.
CM Saini said his counterpart “seems to have forgotten that in April-May, paddy cultivation is not carried out in Punjab and Haryana. In these two months, the water released by the BBMB is solely for drinking purposes.”
He pointed out that Mann mentioned low water levels in the Pong and Ranjit Sagar dams, but he did not address the status of the Bhakra Dam from which Haryana receives its water and not from Pong or Ranjit Sagar.
On Punjab’s claim that Haryana had exhausted its water share in March, CM Saini said in reality, “we have not received our full share. If the BBMB were to provide the remaining water as per Haryana’s demand, it would amount to just 0.0001 per cent of the water stored in the Bhakra Dam, a figure so small it would have no impact on its storage”.
The Haryana Chief Minister emphasised that it is essential to empty water reservoirs before June to store rainwater during the monsoon season. “If the reservoir is not cleared in time, excess water will flow to Pakistan via Harike-Pattan, which is neither in the interest of Punjab nor the nation,” he added.
–IANS
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