Chandigarh/ Haryana (February 24, 2014): Punjab is facing sever water crisis as the ground water tables are showing an alarming trend of decline in ground water levels where the river water of the state continues to flow outside the state to non-riparian states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
A view of Hansi-Butana Canal. The project is waiting to be linked to Bhakhra Main Line near Samana (Punjab). [File Photo]
Adding to the worries the Haryana governor Jagan Nath Pahadia recently stated in the state assembly that Haryana government was actively pursuing expeditious completion of Satluj Yamuna Link canal and linking of BML-Hansi Branch-Butana Branch Multi-purpose Link Canal.
During his address to the state assembly on February 21, Haryana governor further stated that: “the Haryana government is committed to ensure that Haryana gets its due share of water from all inter-state river agreements”.
It may be recalled that Harynana, just like Rajasthan and Delhi, is a non-riparian states to the rivers of Punjab and therefore hold no right over the river waters of Punjab. But these states are getting major lot of Punjab’s river waters. On the other hand Punjab itself is a water deficit states that has been deprived of more than half of it’s river waters in sheer violation of provisions of Indian constitution as well as the international doctrine of ‘riparian rule’.
It’s a tragedy that the Punjab assembly unanimously approved section 5 of Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004 which provided legal nod to illegal arrangements made by the government of India to allocate Punjab’s river waters to the non-riparian states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.
Hansi-Buntana link and SYL Canal are controversial projects that would further harm the interests of Punjab and push the state towards becoming a desert state more rapidly.