Stop injustice with Punjab, says Mann at Niti Aayog meeting; raises water issue

Mint

24-05-2025

New Delhi, May 24 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday accused the Centre of giving "step-motherly" treatment to Punjab and said such type of discriminatory treatment is unwarranted.
Participating in the meeting of 10th Governing Council of the Niti Aayog here, the chief minister raised the issues concerning the state while reiterating that Punjab has no surplus water for any state.
Amid the ongoing row over the sharing of water issue, the chief minister asserted that in wake of grim situation of water in the state a Yamuna-Sutlej-Link (YSL) canal should be considered for construction instead of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
Mann said that Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers are already in deficit and water should be diverted from surplus to deficit basins.
He said that Punjab has repeatedly requested to be included in negotiations for the allocation of Yamuna waters as a pact for Yamuna-Sutlej-Link Project was signed between the erstwhile Punjab and Uttar Pradesh on March 12, 1954, which entitled the erstwhile Punjab to two-thirds of the Yamuna waters.
The chief minister said that this agreement did not specify any particular area to be irrigated by Yamuna waters, adding that before the re-organization, the Yamuna River, like the Ravi and Beas, flowed through the erstwhile state of Punjab.
However, while apportioning the river waters between Punjab and Haryana, the Yamuna waters were not considered, whereas the waters of Ravi and Beas were duly taken into account, he lamented.
Citing 1972 report by the Irrigation Commission, constituted by the Government of India, Mann said that it states that Punjab (post-1966, after its reorganisation) falls within the Yamuna River Basin.
The chief minister said that if Haryana has a claim over the waters of Ravi and Beas rivers, Punjab should also have an equal claim on the Yamuna waters. He said that these requests have been ignored, adding that due to non-construction of storage structure on Yamuna River, water is going to waste.
Bhagwant Mann pleaded that Punjab's claim should be considered during the revision of this agreement, and Punjab should be given its due rights to Yamuna waters.
Raising the issue of "bias approach" of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the chief minister said that the Board was constituted under the provisions of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, with the mandate to regulate the supply of water and power from the Bhakra, Nangal and Beas projects to the partner states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh.
He said that in the past Punjab has been very liberal in sharing water with the partner states to meet their drinking water and other genuine requirements as Punjab was relying upon its groundwater reserves to meet its demand of water, particularly for the paddy crop.
Mann said that as a result, the groundwater level has depleted to a huge extent, so much so that 115 blocks out of 153 blocks of the state (76.10 per cent) are over-exploited, adding that this percentage is the highest amongst all the States in the country.
Noting that Punjab itself is running short of its water requirement and even its water share in the river waters is not sufficient to meet these requirements, he said despite our repeated request BBMB did not take any action to advise the other partner states to regulate the release of water to Haryana, and as a result, it exhausted its share by March 30, 2025.
Mann said that considering the request of the Government of Haryana on humanitarian grounds, the state decided to release 4,000 cusecs of water out of Punjab's share to meet its drinking water requirement, though Haryana has only a genuine demand of 1,700 cusecs of water.
The chief minister claimed that BBMB ignored the interest of Punjab and decided to release 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana despite serious objections raised by Punjab.
He said that this is against the spirit and provisions of the law as BBMB has taken this decision of taking Punjab's water against the consent of Punjab, adding that BBMB should be advised to restrain itself and act as per the provisions of law.
Highlighting the issue of deployment of CISF personnel at Bhakra Nangal Dam, the chief minister said the security of Bhakra and Nangal Dams has been the sole responsibility of the concerned states since their construction.
He said that the Ministry of Power (MoP) has taken the decision to depute CISF for the security of Bhakra Nangal Dams, which is an unnecessary and completely avoidable step as there is no need to disturb a well-established operational setup as it further degrades the right of Punjab with respect to these dams. In view of this, Mann requested that the decision to depute CISF may be revoked immediately.
Demanding adequate representation to Punjab officers and officials in the Chandigarh Administration in the ratio of 60:40, the chief minister said that Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and there is a well-established and time honoured convention, since the reorganisation of the state of Punjab in 1966, to fill all civil posts in Chandigarh administration from personnel drawn from the Punjab and Haryana in the ratio of 60:40.
However, he said that in recent years this balance has been severely eroded with a systematic increase in deputations from the AGMUT and DANICs cadres, and added that key departments in the Chandigarh Administration hitherto managed by officers from Punjab have now been allocated to much junior officers from the AGMUT cadre.
He alleged that this increasing centralisation and declining representation to Punjab in the administration of its own capital is against the very spirit of cooperative federalism.
Raising the issue of immediate release of pending arrears under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Caste Students for Academic Sessions 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, the chief minister said that Punjab has the highest percentage of Scheduled Caste population (31.94 per cent) in the country and the Post Matric Scholarship scheme for SC Students for pursuing Higher Education was implemented as a 100 per cent centrally-sponsored scheme.
He said that this scheme with a 'Committed Liability' of the state of ₹ 60.79 crore proved to be highly beneficial for the Scheduled Caste students in Punjab adding that the Government of India changed the criteria of 'Committed liability' in 2018 and made it equivalent to "the total demand of the state as well as Centre" in the terminal year of the previous plan period/ Finance Commission.
Speaking on the issue of Desilting of Harike Head works, the chief minister said that it is located at the confluence point of rivers Sutlej and Beas and is the main control point for supply of water to South west Punjab, Rajasthan and also controlling flow into Pakistan.
Mann said that there is an urgent need for carrying out de-silting of the reservoir at a cost ₹ 600 crore approximately, adding that as reservoir area has been declared a Ramsar Convention site and is of national importance, the central government and Rajasthan must share the cost of project.
Meanwhile, affirming Punjab's full alignment with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, the chief minister said that Punjab is committed to build a Rangla Punjab' -- a vibrant, inclusive, and progressive state.
He said that Punjab Vision 2047 launched in 2023 aligns with Viksit Bharat goals with an ambitious target of 8 per cent-plus annual GDP growth through industrial and service-led development, adding that structural reforms are underway to boost business environment along with infrastructure and innovation.