Punjab, Haryana water-sharing row: Hearing deferred till May 26
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday deferred hearing in the plea from Punjab government, seeking recall of the May 6 order that allowed release of additional water to Haryana from Bhakra Dam.
During the hearing on Friday, the Punjab government reiterated its allegations that 'material facts' about the controversy were not brought to the notice of the court by Centre and Haryana, which led to the May 6 order. Punjab's counsel, senior advocate Gurminder Singh concluded his arguments on Friday and hearing was deferred for Monday (May 26) when Centre and Haryana will present their side of arguments.
On May 6, the high court directed Punjab government to not interfere with the functioning of the BBMB and abide by the Union home secretary's May 2 decision which asked BBMB to release additional 4,500 cusecs of water to Haryana. The HC order had come on a plea from BBMB, seeking withdrawal of Punjab cops from the dam site, alleging that they were interfering with the working of board. The Punjab government on May 14 moved high court seeking recall of the order arguing that the Union power secretary is the competent authority to deal with disputes around water-sharing under the BBMB Act, and not the Union home secretary. The controversy erupted on April 28 when the Haryana government's demand for additional water from the Bhakra dam was approved by the BBMB despite opposition from Punjab. The Punjab government refused to accept the decision and deployed police at Nangal dam, 13km downstream from Bhakra, to stop the additional water release. The Union home ministry stepped in on May 2 and directed that additional water be released to Haryana. However, the BBMB said that the order could not be complied with as Punjab Police prevented board officials from discharging their duties.
The BBMB was established by the Union power ministry in 1966 under Section 79 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, which regulates water distribution from Bhakra, Nangal, Pong, and Ranjit Sagar dams between Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
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