Chandigarh: The Member Legislative Assembly (MLA’s) of both Aam Adami Party (AAP) and Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) on Wednesday requested the treasury bench in which it said that the Punjab government should demand royalty on the water drawn from its rivers by non-riparian states, said the media reports.
From left Aman Arora, Simranjit Singh Bains, Sukhpal Singh Khaira,Balwinder Singh Bains and Kanwar Sandhu. (File Photo)
But the treasury bench reportedly declined to entertain this request to which both the AAP and LIP legislatures resorted to walk out. A resolution to this effect was passed by the Vidhan Sabha last year. The matter was raised by Leader of the Opposition Sukhpal Khaira, who said royalty would help the state earn Rs 16 lakh crore and help overcome its financial crisis.
On this matter the state Finance Minister Manpreet Badal reportedly said ” they had already moved the Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council, seeking that water be treated as a natural resource such as minerals, so that the state could earn royalty,” reports The Tribune (TT).