‘Punjab won’t give single drop of water from its share to Haryana’, Assembly passes resolution

Chandigarh: Amid a stand-off with Haryana over the distribution of water from the Bhakra dam, the Punjab Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution, stating that not even a single drop of water will be given from its share to the neighbouring state.

As all the political parties put up a united face in the House to protect Punjab’s river water, the resolution said the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has become “a mere puppet” in the hands of the BJP-led Centre, and therefore it should be reorganised to protect Punjab’s rights.

The House also termed the Dam Safety Act of 2021 an “attack” on the rights of Punjab, demanding that the Centre repeal it.

The Punjab government moved the resolution during a special session of Vidhan Sabha convened in the wake of the water-sharing row with Haryana.

Representatives from the opposition parties supported the resolution, with the leader of the opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, asserting that Punjab doesn’t have even a single drop of water to spare.

When Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was conducting voting, BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma flagged the mentioning of his party’s name in the resolution, triggering sharp reactions from the treasury benches.

Participating in the debate on the resolution, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asserted that Punjab will not allow the release of even a single drop of water to Haryana, saying his state does not have surplus water to spare. “This issue has been thrust upon Punjab at a time when the state requires water for the upcoming paddy sowing season,” he said.

Stating that Punjab continues to give 4,000 cusecs of water to Haryana for drinking purposes on humanitarian grounds, Mann said, “Today, Punjab is calling its sons and daughters to stand with it to save water. I assure that there will be no compromise on this issue.

“Not even a single drop of Punjab’s water will be allowed to be released. Even if a battle needs to be fought in the Supreme Court, we will fight it out.”

Earlier, Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal moved the resolution, after which it was taken up for discussion.