'Moral victory for Punjab': CM Mann after HC seeks response from Centre, Haryana over water row

Ludhiana: As the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued directions on Punjab's plea for a review of its May 6 order on releasing 4,500 cusecs of extra water to Haryana, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday described it as "moral victory" for his state.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating development projects worth Rs 13 crore here, Mann also reiterated that Punjab does not have spare water to share with any other state and said his state needs more water to cater to irrigation needs of the farming community.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday sought response from the Centre, Haryana and Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on Punjab's plea for a review of its May 6 order on releasing 4,500 cusecs of extra water to Haryana.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel fixed May 20 as the next date of hearing.

Mann said as most of the river resources of the state have dried up, it needs more water to cater to its irrigation needs.

Punjab and Haryana are at the loggerheads over the distribution of water with the Mann-led AAP government refusing to share water from Bhakra dam, saying the neighbouring state has already utilised its share of water for the current year.

Punjab has claimed that Haryana already exhausted its allocated share, and 4,000 cusecs of water were already released on humanitarian grounds.

Referring to the high court's directions on Wednesday, Mann said the court has sought reply from all stakeholders on May 20, calling it as a "moral victory" for the state.

He said Haryana that has already exhausted its share of water for the current year will be eligible for its share of water by May 21.

The high court on May 6 had directed Punjab to abide by the decision of the meeting held under the chairmanship of Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan.

Mohan had on May 2 chaired the high-level meeting, which advised to implement the BBMB's decision to release 4,500 cusecs of extra water from the Bhakra Dam to Haryana for the next eight days to meet the state's urgent water requirements.

In its petition, Punjab objected that the Union home secretary was not the appropriate authority to deal with the issue related to release of water.

Mann said that the state government has fought the battle both politically and legally.

He said that his government is committed to safeguarding the interests of the state and no stone will be left unturned for it.

The chief minister also slammed Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu for allegedly "spitting venom" against him just to "appease his political bosses".

Bittu hails from Ludhiana but he has done "nothing substantial" for the development of the city, alleged Mann.

"Bittu wakes up in the morning and starts criticizing me from that very moment just to make his party bosses happy," said Mann.

He said traditional political parties are "envious" of him because they are not able to digest that the son of a common man is governing the state "effectively".

"People of the state have lost their faith in the traditional political parties because of their anti-people and anti-Punjab stance," he alleged.

On his government's works, Mann said the state government has created "history" by launching several pro-people and development-oriented policies to put the state further on the path economic growth.

After launching the projects, the chief minister announced that the 'Buddha Nullah' would be made completely pollution free, and said the state government has already set the wheels in motion for this noble cause.

Mann also announced the establishment of eight UPSC coaching centres in Punjab with one of them in Ludhiana.

Each centre will be equipped with a library, hostel and other essential facilities to provide quality training for competitive examinations, he stated.