Punjab-Haryana water dispute touches new low with latest row

Chandigarh: The long-running dispute between northern states of Punjab and Haryana over the sharing of river water turned into full-blown theatrics in the last few weeks, with politicians of all hues on both sides jumping on the bandwagon.

The trigger was an order of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on April 30 to release a surplus 4,500 cusecs of water from the Bhakra-Nangal dams to Haryana, which had cited acute drinking water needs. Punjab opposed the move, saying it “doesn’t have a drop to spare” and that the neighbouring state had already exhausted its yearly quota by drawing 104% water.  

What followed was an all-out drama: The AAP government in Punjab marshalled additional police personnel to guard the Nangal dam (located in the downstream of Bhakra dam); the Union government ordered deployment of 296 paramilitary CISF personnel at the dam — apparently to prevent Punjab from taking control of the structure — citing the ongoing tension with Pakistan; BBMB chairman Manoj Tripathi was locked by Punjab protesters in a guestroom; courtroom arguments, dharna’s, special Assembly sessions, all-party meetings and many more.

Old script, new drama

Highly dependent on agriculture, both Punjab and Haryana have political compulsions to talk tough when it comes to water. This is why the 214-km Satluj-Yamuna link (SYL) Canal — conceptualised for distribution of river water among the states and as a way to resolve the dispute — is yet to see the light of the day even after decades. While Haryana completed its part of the canal stretch, Punjab has abandoned the plan altogether.

With a whopping 40 lakh-plus hectares under cultivation, mainly wheat and rice, Punjab has over 14 lakh tube-wells. This has resulted in fast depletion of groundwater, resulting in the demand for canal irrigation. Falling water levels in dams like Bhakra, Pong and others, attributed to reduced snowfall in the Himalayas, are also creating scarcity.

While the water dispute dates back to the time of creation of Haryana in 1966, the latest row has its own script. After suffering a massive defeat at the hands of BJP in the recent Delhi elections, the AAP is in power only in Punjab, where the party, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has 92 MLA in the House of 117 members.   

In addition to the advantage to Punjab farmers from the non-release of water to Haryana, Mann knew that this was also a chance to coronate himself as the ‘savior’ of the state’s water.

By letting the emotive issue go uncontested would have backfired and provided fodder to the opposition parties in Punjab, where the BJP has been keeping its guns ready, in case the AAP leader makes any faulty maneuvers on the issue.  

Mann has accused the BJP-led Union government of trying to suppress Punjab’s interests. “They picked a political fight. Union minister and former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar made it a prestige issue,” he said.

‘Dirty politics’

On the other hand, the BJP regime in Haryana has called out the Punjab government for playing “dirty politics”. “Punjab refuses to follow the BBMB’s direction to release water. It is unconstitutional, inhuman and an attack on the federal structure of the Constitution,” Chief Minister Nayab Saini said.

The Punjab leader won the bout as Haryana couldn’t draw additional water before May 21, the date when the new water cycle begins every year.

Celebrating ‘victory’ a few days ago, he said, “We successfully prevented the BBMB from releasing extra water to Haryana. This is a victory of the people of Punjab, particularly AAP workers, who have been holding a sit-in here.”

The BBMB is under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Power. It has BJP-ruled Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi as members in addition to Punjab and Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. The body decides the annual quota of water to be supplied to partner states.

With the new water cycle kicking in on May 21, it was expected that the issue would be settled for now.  However, Mann appears to be in no mood to retreat. On May 24, at the Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Punjab CM raised the issue once again.

He has demanded the reconstitution of BBMB, which he ridicules as a “white elephant” acting as a puppet in the hands of the Union government and other states to rob Punjab of its share of water. He has also sought a share in the Yamuna waters.

Notably, BJP-ruled Haryana and the previous Delhi government under AAP used to engage in frequent squabbles over releasing Yamuna water for the needs of national capital.

(The writer is a Chandigarh-based senior journalist)

As per the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan the waters of Sutlej Beas and Ravi rivers were allotted to India for exclusive use. Subsequently a master Plan was drawn to utilise the potential of these rivers for irrigation power generation and flood control. Bhakra and Beas Projects form a major part of the plan. The Bhakra Beas Management Board is tasked with regulating the supply of water and power from Bhakra Nangal and Beas Projects to Punjab Haryana Rajasthan Himachal Pradesh Delhi and Chandigarh. As per the BBMB quota allocation which will be valid up from May 21 2025 to May 20 2026 Punjab gets 17000 cusecs of water Rajasthan 12400 cusecs and Haryana 10300 cusecs.