BJP divesting water by misusing power in Haryana and Centre: Punjab CM

Chandigarh, April 30 (IANS) Slamming the BJP for conspiring to divest Punjab of its water by misusing its power in Haryana and the Centre, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday categorically said the state has no single drop of water to share with any other state.

In a letter to his Haryana counterpart, the Chief Minister said he had received the letter of Naib Singh Saini through the media only and “it is unfortunate that a person of his stature is misleading the people by saying that he has assured water to Haryana”. He said this “is nothing more than a bundle of lies as this promise was never made”, adding this doesn’t suit a person sitting on a constitutional post.

Mann said in a statement that the Chief Minister of Haryana “did call him but he never gave any assurance regarding water to Saini”, adding he can give such a promise when Punjab has no drop of spare water to share with any other state.

The Chief Minister said every year, Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) distributes water to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, which is applicable from May 21 to May 20 next year. He said this year, BBMB had distributed 3.318 MAF, 2.987 MAF and 5.512 MAF water to Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, respectively.

Mann said the BJP government in Haryana had used its share of water by March 31, after which the crisis had arisen. The Chief Minister said subsequently the Haryana government had urged Punjab that they don’t even have water to cater to the drinking needs of people. He said as a humanitarian gesture, the Punjab government generously allotted 4,000 cusec water daily to Haryana from April 6.

Mann said that though the population of Haryana is three crore and as per estimates, 1,700 cusec of water is enough to meet the needs of the people of the state. However, the Chief Minister said the Haryana government has sought 2.5 times more water from Punjab than its actual need. Despite this, he said Punjab has been giving this water from April, adding a few days back, Haryana had pleaded that this water is not sufficient for it and they need 8,500 cusec additional water daily.

Mann said, “It is evident that this water is needed for irrigation purposes, and this problem has arisen as Haryana has not utilised its share of water properly”. The Chief Minister highlighted that Punjab is already grappling with a shortage of water for agricultural purposes as the groundwater is receding across the state.

He said the level of water in the dams has been recorded all-time low, and the water level at Pong Dam, Bhakra Dam and Ranjit Sagar Dam is 32 feet, 12 feet and 14 feet lower, respectively, as compared to last year. Mann said every single drop of water is precious for the state, and there is no question of sharing the water with any other state.

Picture Courtesy: IANS