Bhakra Dam Row: Petition In SC Alleges Punjab Using ‘Force By Illegal Means’ To Deny Water To H

Chandigarh, May 3 (PTI) A petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday against the alleged deployment of Punjab Police at the Bhakra headworks, claiming it was obstructing the release of water to Haryana.

The development came as a fresh row erupted over water sharing between Punjab and Haryana.

The AAP-ruled Punjab has refused to release more water to BJP-ruled Haryana, claiming that the neighbouring state has “already used 103 per cent of the allocated water by March”.

According to the petition filed by advocate Ravinder Singh Dhull, the Punjab government has “illegally deployed” cops at the BBMB Bhakra headworks and Lohand Khud escape channel while flouting all constitutional duties.

The regulator gates at Bhakra headworks from where the water flow has to be increased for Haryana and Lohand Khud escape channel are now under the control of Punjab police, said the petitioner.

If the police do not permit the regulator gates at Bhakra headworks to be operated and allow water to flow through Lohand Khud escape channel to Harike, the allocation of 8,500 cusecs to Haryana cannot be achieved.

The petitioner claimed Punjab has no legal right to stop access to water by putting police force and violating the fundamental right under Article 21 for the residents of Haryana.

Notably, the Punjab government has beefed up security at the Nangal dam, which is located downstream of the Bhakra dam.

Punjab minister Harjot Singh Bains had said they have taken “control” over the Nangal dam and the room from where the water supply is regulated has been locked, and its key has been given to police.

The petition stated that the Bhakra dam is one of the primary sources of irrigation water in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.

The Bhakra Beas Management Board’s technical committee on April 23 decided that 8,500 cusecs of water be given to Haryana.

“Out of the 8,500 cusecs, Haryana would have got 7,000 cusecs while 1,000 cusecs would have gone to Delhi and 500 cusecs to Rajasthan,” said the petitioner.

However, Punjab put a cap on the allocation of water supplied to the state of Haryana at 4,000 cusecs and it submitted a dissenting note on the BBMB’s decision, refusing to comply.

“Instead of accepting the decision, Punjab immediately created a big law and order blunder by sending police force to the dam area to stop every drop of water and the chief minister for the state of Punjab issued press briefs, statements wherein various provocative statements were given by leaders of Punjab,” said the petitioner.

“By using force by way of illegal means, the State of Punjab has crossed all limits of inhumanity for the reasons best known to them. Bhakra channel of water gives drinking as well as irrigation to half of the State of Haryana apart from other states. Thus, the residents are likely to suffer due to unconstitutional act, thus kind intervention of the high court is necessary in this issue,” read the petition.

The BBMB regulates water distribution from Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar dams. Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are the partnering states that meet their requirement for different purposes, including irrigation, from Bhakra and Pong dams.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)