Water War: As Punjab’s AAP govts vows to not release a single drop of water for Haryana, CM Saini says excess water will go to Pakistan if reservoirs not emptied before monsoon
As the Indian government has suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan and stopped the flow of water of several rivers to Pakistan, a new water war has emerged between the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. The issue emerged after the Bhakra Beas Management Board decided to release 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana from the Bhakra Dam. This triggered protests by AAP and a war of words between the two state governments.
AAP argues that Haryana has already received its share of water from the dam, and Punjab should get all the water. Notably, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi are partnering states that meet their water requirements from Bhakra and Pong dams managed by the BBMB. The board decides the annual quota of water supply to the three states for a cycle from May 21 to May 21 every year.
In a meeting attended by all three partner states on Wednesday, the BBMB accepted Haryana’s request for additional water, which was supported by Rajasthan and Delhi but strongly opposed by Punjab. Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh chose not to vote for any side.
Notably, the Bhakra–Nangal Dam system is comprised of two dams, Bhakra Dam in Himachal and Nangal in Punjab.
Haryana is currently receiving 4,000 cusecs daily but has now requested 8,500 cusecs. The AAP govt in Punjab has alleged that Haryana has already utilized its allocated share, and it can’t be given more water, saying it is unjustified and will harm Punjab’s agriculture. Punjab officials blamed Haryana of mismanagement of water in the heated debate during the meeting.
After the meeting, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini called Bhagwant Singh Mann, saying Haryana needs additional water. But Mann refused, saying Punjab is already facing a water crisis, and it did not have a drop to spare.
Soon after, the Punjab govt decided to escalate the matter, and refused to release water to Haryana from the dam. The govt also ordered increased security at the Nangal dam.
CM Bhagwant Mann said, “Haryana has used its share of water. It runs from May 21 to May 21, they have used their water till March itself. Now, they are asking for additional water, which we don’t have. Our paddy season has arrived, we have fixed our canal system, now Punjab is using its share of water.”
The Punjab CM posted on X today, “The entire Punjab strongly opposes the decision to give water that is the right of Punjab and Punjabis to Haryana through BBMB. The BJP government of the Center and Haryana have united against Punjab. We will not tolerate another robbery of our rights by BJP at any cost. BJP should be ready to face opposition.”
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the AAP government will not allow the release of any more water to Haryana. He said, “There is a strong government in Punjab and it will not allow the release of even a single drop of water to Haryana. We are not stopping anybody’s right and we are not betraying anyone. We have already given the allotted water.”
On the other hand, BJP has accused AAP of playing politics over the issue. Haryana BJP president Badoli accused Arvind Kejriwal of instigating Punjab CM Mann to take such actions to take revenge against people of Delhi for losing the elections. He said, “When the AAP government was in Punjab and Delhi, they used to misguide people the same way during the three months of summer. They used to lie, claiming a shortage of water. Politicising a matter like drinking water is Arvind Kejriwal’s old habit.”
Delhi minister Parvesh Sahib Singh has said that Punjab government has resorted to dirty politics by stopping the water supply to Haryana and Delhi.
He tweeted, “After losing in Delhi, now they want to create water crisis in Delhi. We are working day and night to provide clean water to every household in Delhi and now the Punjab government wants to take revenge on the people of Delhi in this way. Stop this dirty politics or else you will be expelled from Punjab as well.”
Haryana govt has also alleged that Punjab has capped the Bhakra water supply at 4,000 cusecs. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has denied AAP’s claim that the state has received its full share, saying they have only received 60% of water.
The CM said, “He is trying to politicise this issue. I would like to clarify that the SYL (Sutlej-Yamuna Link) canal matter is under the supervision of the Supreme Court. But this issue is not about SYL’s water. It is about the issue of drinking water… Haryana has not yet received its full share. In the last week, Haryana received only 4,000 cusecs of drinking water, which is approximately 60 per cent of the state’s total demand. If BBMB provides the remaining water per Haryana’s demand, it will be only 0.0001 per cent of Bhakra Dam’s water reservoir.”
In a significant comment, CM Saini said that if Punjab govt keep capping water released from the dam at 4,000 cusec, excess water will overflow during monsoon and reach Pakistan. He said that the Bhakra dam reservoir has to be emptied before monsoon so that excess water accumulated during monsoon can be stored in the reservoir.
He said, “It is necessary to empty the Bhakra Dam water reservoir before June so that rainwater can be stored during the monsoon. If there is no space left in the water reservoir, excess water will go to Pakistan via Hari-ke-Pattan, which is neither in the interest of Punjab nor the nation.”
Notably, if Saini’s warning becomes true, it will nullify the impact of Govt of India stopping flow of water to Pakistan. Because the flow can be stopped only by dams. But if the water overflows over the dams because of filled-up reservoirs, then the water can’t be stopped from flowing downstream and reaching Pakistan.
CM Minister Nayab Singh Saini added that stopping water for Haryana will also impact Delhi. “As long as there was an Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, the Mann government in Punjab had no objection to the water going to Delhi. Now that there is no Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, why is Mann making such statements to punish the people of Delhi?” he said.
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