Canal under repair, can’t release addl water: Punjab

Amidst the ongoing tussle with Haryana over the release of additional water to the neighbouring state, the Punjab Government has come up with another reason to delay the release of 4,500 cusec water, saying the Bhakra Mainline (BML) canal is under repair and does not have enough water-carrying capacity.

The Superintending Engineer of the Bhakra Main Line (BML) canal had written a letter to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), saying they be informed in advance if any additional water was to be released as repair and maintenance work was on. A team of BBMB engineers thereafter carried out an inspection of the canal.

A top official of the Punjab Government told The Tribune that in spite of the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, it might not be possible to release more water to Haryana through the BML as the canal was under maintenance.

Another reason for water not being released to Haryana immediately is that the Union Home Secretary, at his meeting with officials of partner states of the BBMB on May 2, had sought for additional 4,500 cusecs of water to be released to Haryana, over and above the additional 4,000 cusecs that Punjab was releasing since April 4, for a time period of May 2-11. This time period is now over.

It may be mentioned that a meeting of the technical committee of the BBMB had now been convened on May 14. The Chief Engineer of the BBMB and Central Water Commission and officials from all partner states of the Board will be attending this meeting, where the water allocation to all partner states — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi — will be decided.

The water allocation to states for the dam-filling period, that begins on May 21, will be determined now and Haryana will get its share of water from next week. As of date, Punjab’s requirement of canal water for irrigation, domestic use and drinking water purpose is 18,000 cusecs, which doubles during the paddy transplantation phase.

Punjab