Water issue: Why Centre not giving clear instructions to Mann govt, asks Surjewala

Chandigarh: Amid the stand-off between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday questioned the silence of the Centre over the issue and asked it to instruct the Bhagwant Mann government not to create any obstructions in allocation of Haryana's water.

Surjewala, at a news conference here, also referred to alleged deployment of Punjab Police personnel at the Bhakra headworks, claiming it was obstructing the release of water to Haryana and 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, Surjewala, a Rajya Sabha MP, asked.

He 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 and an all-party meeting in Haryana asked the Punjab government to unconditionally release the water.

The AAP-ruled Punjab has refused to release more water to BJP-ruled Haryana, claiming the neighbouring state has "already used 103 per cent of the allocated water by March".

Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan had on Friday favoured BBMB's decision to release 4,500 cusecs of extra water from Bhakra dams to Haryana for the next eight days to meet the state's urgent water requirements.

Noting that assembly elections are due in Punjab in January 2027, Surjewala claimed that by "deliberately maintaining silence and not taking action, the BJP is trying to make Bhagwant Mann a hero, so that the Congress can be prevented from coming to power in Punjab at any cost".

"A controversy was deliberately created over the water of Bhakra Nangal Dam, while it was completely avoidable. Facts are that there is 1,556 feet of water in the dam at this time. According to the parameters, the water level of the dam should be maintained at a minimum of up to 1,506 feet.

"If 8,500 cusecs of water is given to Haryana every day, then by May 21, the current water level of the dam will reach only 1,532 feet from 15,56 feet, which is much above the minimum level. So what objection can any state have in such a situation? But objections are being created deliberately so that the BJP can support the sinking ship of Mann," he alleged.

Claiming that Haryana was suffering from a severe water crisis, especially in districts like Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Jind, Fatehabad, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Sirsa, Surjewala said that Bhakra water has been reduced from 8,500 cusecs to 4,000 cusecs.

In the scorching heat, the village ponds have almost dried up and the cattle are on the verge of dying of thirst. The tanker mafia is dominating the entire state and Rs. 1,000 is being charged per tanker, he claimed.

Amid all this, chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana are busy only in rhetoric while the Centre is "sleeping" on the issue, he claimed.