Haryana government and Centre trying to 'plunder' our water, says Punjab minister Dhaliwal

Chandigarh: Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Sunday said his state will not allow even a single drop of water to be released to Haryana, and attacked the BJP-led Centre and Haryana government for trying to "plunder" it.

His 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.

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".

Punjab NRI Affairs minister Dhaliwal on Sunday said Chief Minister Bhagwant 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, Punjab's leader, Bhagwant Singh Mann, 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 Dhaliwal.

The Punjab minister lashed out at the Centre for trying to take water from the Bhakra dam. "It will not happen. The water will be utilised for Punjab's farmers and the agriculture sector and therefore, we do not have water and we cannot give more water," said Dhaliwal.

"This water is being snatched from us. We are Punjabis, sons of Punjab, we will not let the Centre and Haryana to snatch even a single drop of water," said Dhaliwal.

The water sharing issue this year began after AAP-ruled Punjab refused to release more water to Haryana, claiming that it has "already used 103 per cent of the allocated water by March".

The Punjab government strongly objected to the decision of the Bhakra Beas Management Board of giving more water to Haryana.

The AAP government has also asserted that it requires water for the upcoming paddy sowing season, thus there was not a single surplus drop to spare.

CM Mann on Saturday had said Punjab would not tolerate bullying and said that he had visited the Nangal dam to stop release of excess water.

Haryana had demanded 8,500 cusecs of water while Punjab is already giving 4,000 cusecs on humanitarian ground for drinking purposes.

Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan chaired a high-level meeting on Friday in Delhi and advised to carry out the BBMB's decision to release 4,500 cusecs of extra water from Bhakra dam to Haryana for the next eight days to meet the state's urgent water requirements.

It was also agreed that during the filling period of the dams, the BBMB will provide this excess water to Punjab to fulfil any additional requirements of the state.

However, the Punjab government on Saturday "boycotted" the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) meeting which was called after the Centre advised it to release extra water to Haryana.

The BBMB regulates water distribution from Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar dams. Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are the partnering states that meet their requirement for different purposes, including irrigation, from Bhakra and Pong dams.

The Haryana CM on Saturday chided the AAP government for deploying Punjab Police at the Nangal dam, saying police taking the keys of the dam in its hands shows not only disapproval of the administrative decision but also poses a challenge to the constitutional system.

The Punjab government has called a special session of the Vidhan Sabha on Monday, amid a row over the water-sharing issue with Haryana.