Punjab CM Mann seeks 'legitimate' share of Indus water, says state has not a drop to share

New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday asserted the state has no surplus water for others and demanded its legitimate share in the Indus waters.

He also mooted the idea of a Yamuna Sutlej Link (YSL) canal instead of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, according to a statement from the chief minister's office.

Participating in a meeting held at Shram Shakti Bhawan here on the SYL canal issue, Mann said Punjab has no surplus water to share with others and asserted that a reassessment of the availability of water in the state is needed according to international norms.

The groundwater situation in Punjab is very grim, he said, adding that since most of the river resources of the state have dried up, it needs more water to cater to its irrigation needs.

The scant amount of water Punjab has is being provided to farmers, and in such a scenario, there is no question of sharing even a drop of water with any other state, the chief minister said.

He said the opportunity that has opened up with the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan must be duly utilised to fulfil the water needs of the state. Efforts should be made to bring water from the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab) to meet the growing demand, Mann added.

He pointed out that India's decision to suspend the water treaty with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack opens up the possibility of greater utilisation of water from the western rivers.

Mann went on to stress that Punjab, which is currently facing groundwater depletion, must be prioritised in any future strategies for the usage, diversion, or allocation of river waters.

New storage dams should be built in the upstream of the Bhakra and Pong Dams in Himachal Pradesh, he said, while highlighting that it would significantly enhance the storage and regulation of western river waters.

"It is the need of the hour that Punjab, which has overexploited its only available natural resources -- water and fertile land -- to make the country self-reliant in food production, is duly compensated." The long-conceived Sharda-Yamuna Link project needs to be taken up on priority, and surplus water should be transferred to the Yamuna at a suitable location, Mann said.

He maintained that the additional water, so available, could offset the balance water requirement of Haryana from the Ravi-Beas system, apart from addressing the drinking water requirement of Delhi and the availability of the Yamuna water to Rajasthan.

To cater to Haryana's demands, a Sarda-Yamuna Link canal should be constructed to transfer surplus Sarda water to the Yamuna while the Chenab water can be diverted to Beas through the Rohtang tunnel to eliminate the need for the SYL canal, the Punjab chief minister proposed.

He said that proceedings with respect to the SYL matter may be kept in abeyance till the decision of the Ravi-Beas tribunal is awarded, adding that the 1994 MoU on allocation of Yamuna water between Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan will be reviewed after this year.

So, Punjab should be included as a partner state of Yamuna water allocations, and 60 per cent surplus waters of the river should be considered for the state, the chief minister demanded.

He said that instead of the Sutlej-Yamuna-Link (SYL) canal, the project should now be reconceived as the Yamuna-Satluj-Link (YSL) canal, as the Sutlej river has already dried up and there is no question of sharing even a single drop of water from it.

Rather, water from the Ganga and Yamuna should be supplied to Punjab through the Sutlej, he added.

Mann highlighted that the SYL canal is an "emotive issue".

He categorically said that land is not available for the SYL canal.

Out of 34.34 MAF water of the three rivers, Punjab was allocated only 14.22 MAF, while the remaining 60 per cent was allocated to Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan, even though none of these rivers actually flow through these states, the chief minister added. PTI SKC NSD NSD