Chandigarh: Accusing the BJP of playing a “dirty game” by pressurising Punjab to release excess water to Haryana, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the saffron party will not be allowed to succeed in its “nefarious designs” against the state. While demanding that the waters of Chenab, Jhelum, and Ujh be diverted to Punjab following the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, Mann claimed that Haryana had exhausted its allocated share of water.
Mann claimed that Haryana and Rajasthan were allotted shares in the water of the state from a cycle of May 21 to May 21 every year. However, he said that the state of Haryana utilised all the water in its share in March this year, due to which it was now trying to “grab some more water by robbing Punjab of its water.”
The CM said that hitherto Haryana used 103% of its allocated water and now the BJP was pressurising Punjab to release more water to Haryana. He said that the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) was being “illegally used” by the BJP to achieve this goal. He said that the previous govts in Punjab used to extend such largesse to appease their mentors in BJP, but as a custodian of the waters of the state, he will never allow it. He said that Punjab had upgraded its canal water system, due to which it now requires water to cater to the needs of the farmers of the state in the wake of the ensuing paddy season.
Mann said, “Punjab doesn’t have even a single drop of water to share with the other states. Already the state has given 4000 cusecs of water to Haryana on humanitarian grounds to fulfil their drinking water needs. The situation of water is already dismal in the state, and water in Ranjit Singh Dam and Pong Dam was already 39 feet and 24 feet low compared to the one recorded last year at the same time."
Asserting that he was the custodian of the waters of the state, Mann said that instead of trying to pressure Punjab illegally, the Haryana govt should have used their share of water judiciously. He said that BJP should refrain from politicising this issue as water is a necessity for the state and its farmers. “Punjab contributes 185 Metric Ton of paddy to the national food pool and it will not bow before such tantrums of the BJP,” he said.
Reiterating that Punjab had no spare water to share with any other state, Mann said that even a single drop of water will not be given to anyone. He said that most of the blocks of the state are over-exploited and the groundwater situation in the state is very grim. Likewise, most of the river resources of the state have dried up, so it needs more water to cater to its irrigation needs, he said.
Mann claimed that Haryana and Rajasthan were allotted shares in the water of the state from a cycle of May 21 to May 21 every year. However, he said that the state of Haryana utilised all the water in its share in March this year, due to which it was now trying to “grab some more water by robbing Punjab of its water.”
The CM said that hitherto Haryana used 103% of its allocated water and now the BJP was pressurising Punjab to release more water to Haryana. He said that the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) was being “illegally used” by the BJP to achieve this goal. He said that the previous govts in Punjab used to extend such largesse to appease their mentors in BJP, but as a custodian of the waters of the state, he will never allow it. He said that Punjab had upgraded its canal water system, due to which it now requires water to cater to the needs of the farmers of the state in the wake of the ensuing paddy season.
Mann said, “Punjab doesn’t have even a single drop of water to share with the other states. Already the state has given 4000 cusecs of water to Haryana on humanitarian grounds to fulfil their drinking water needs. The situation of water is already dismal in the state, and water in Ranjit Singh Dam and Pong Dam was already 39 feet and 24 feet low compared to the one recorded last year at the same time."
Asserting that he was the custodian of the waters of the state, Mann said that instead of trying to pressure Punjab illegally, the Haryana govt should have used their share of water judiciously. He said that BJP should refrain from politicising this issue as water is a necessity for the state and its farmers. “Punjab contributes 185 Metric Ton of paddy to the national food pool and it will not bow before such tantrums of the BJP,” he said.
Reiterating that Punjab had no spare water to share with any other state, Mann said that even a single drop of water will not be given to anyone. He said that most of the blocks of the state are over-exploited and the groundwater situation in the state is very grim. Likewise, most of the river resources of the state have dried up, so it needs more water to cater to its irrigation needs, he said.
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