Punjab Refuses to Release Water to Haryana Amid Escalating Row
New Delhi: Amid the standoff with Haryana over water sharing, Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Sunday said the state will not allow even a single drop of water to be released to the neighbouring state and attacked the BJP-led Union and Haryana governments for trying to “plunder” it. Striking a contrarian tone, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, however, questioned the silence of the Centre over the issue and asked the Modi government to instruct the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab not to create any obstructions in the allocation of Haryana’s water.
Mr Dhaliwal’s statement came a day after an all-party meeting in Haryana asked the Punjab government to unconditionally release water. Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini had hit out at the AAP government, saying not following the Bhakra Beas Management Board’s direction to release water was “unconstitutional, inhuman” and an attack on the federal structure of the Constitution.
Mr Dhaliwal on Sunday said Mr Mann is fighting for the state’s share of water. “Just as the head of a household saves every single rupee to run the family, in the same way, the Punjab CM is saving every single drop of water for his farmers and Punjabis, and the BJP government is trying to illegally plunder it… I stand with my leader. We won’t give even a single drop of water,” said Mr Dhaliwal.
Congress leader from Haryana, Mr Surjewala referred to the alleged deployment of the Punjab police personnel at the Bhakra-Nangal dam, claiming it was obstructing the release of water to Haryana. He demanded that the Centre should get it freed from the “illegal occupation”.
“What is the reason that the Narendra Modi government is not issuing written orders to the Mann government under Article 257 of the Constitution (dealing with control of the Union over states in certain cases)? Why does it not give direction not to stop Haryana’s water?” asked Mr Surjewala.
The Congress Rajya Sabha MP demanded that the Modi government should hand over the security of the Bhakra-Nangal Dam project to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The stand-off between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing intensified on Saturday as the Punjab government boycotted a meeting of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and an all-party meeting in Haryana asked the Punjab government to unconditionally release the water.
The water-sharing issue between Punjab and Haryana has escalated with the AAP government refusing to allow more water into its neighbouring state and the BJP government’s statements that it will safeguard Haryana’s “rightful share of water”.
