Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema on Monday accused the central and Haryana governments of attempting to loot water from his state, whereas chief of opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa backed the Aam Aadmi Get together authorities, saying “the state’s waters won’t be given to anyone else”.
Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema (centre) on Monday accused the central and Haryana governments of attempting to loot water from his state. (HT file picture)
They had been talking on the one-day particular session of the meeting, convened by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, to handle the contentious subject of water-sharing with Haryana, following the Bhakra Beas Administration Board’s (BBMB) resolution to launch a further 8,500 cusecs of water to the neighbouring state. The Home goals to go a decision safeguarding Punjab’s water rights amid unified opposition to the BBMB order from all events within the state.
In his speech, Cheema stated, “Water is a huge necessity for Punjab. We have given more than their share of water to Haryana. Both the Haryana and central governments want to loot water from Punjab. Our AAP government will never let this happen. We are not doing politics.”
Congress MLA Bajwa reiterated his get together’s stance, saying, “The Congress has always been pro-Punjab and stands with the people of Punjab. Punjab waters will not be given to anyone else under any circumstance. We want the state government to take such a stand to secure our future.”
Punjab water assets minister and Lehra MLA Barinder Kumar Goyal stated, “The point is not how much water is in the dam but how much each state shares. Water is allocated based on the decision of the BBMB. We will work according to the law to protect our rights.”
Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar, who was previously with the Congress, highlighted issues about water high quality inside Punjab, saying, “All parties have agreed that Punjab does not have much water, but there is also an issue that people are not getting clean water.”
Belated motion, says Khaira
Bholath Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira criticised the AAP authorities for its delayed response, pointing to the Dam Security Act, 2021, which centralises the rights and management of the dams in any state. “We believe this is a belated action of the Aam Aadmi Party because when the Dam Safety Act was passed in 2021 in the Lok Sabha, Bhagwant Mann was a parliamentarian at the time, but he did not say anything. This 2021 Act has centralised all our rights and control,” Khaira stated.
The particular session follows an all-party assembly on Might 2 that was chaired by chief minister Mann amid escalating issues over the state’s water rights. Throughout the assembly, all events expressed solidarity in opposition to the BBMB resolution to launch a further 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana and famous that the Punjabis had the best to each drop of Punjab water and nobody could be allowed to take it away.
On April 30, the BBMB ordered the extra water to be launched to Haryana from the Bhakra-Nangal dam. Nevertheless, the Punjab authorities rejected the BBMB selections, elevating issues over reducing water ranges in key reservoirs.