Haryana, Punjab clash over water again

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 25

The long-pending and contentious issue of water sharing between Punjab and Haryana yet again reverberated at the 27th meeting of Northern Zonal Council here in New Delhi.

The Council, which met after three years, was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Himachal Pradesh was the host.

Haryana demanded the time-bound completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and asked the Government of India to quickly refer the matter of Presidential Reference on the abrogation of the water treaty by Punjab to the Supreme Court.

Punjab responded by pointing out that Haryana was not a riparian state. Hence, it could not claim the waters and went on to demand the transfer of Chandigarh and merger of other Punjabi-speaking areas with the state.

Punjab, in 2005, terminated all water-sharing agreements with Haryana, but allowed that the existing share of water supply be allowed to Haryana.

The SYL canal construction was stopped midway in the 1980s at the behest of militant organisations.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal also highlighted Sikh issues and farmers crisis. He asked the Government of India to end political, economic and religious “discrimination” against the state.

Badal said there was a “sustained, vulgar and utterly non-acceptable interference in the internal religious affairs of the Sikh community”. Attempts were being made to either disband or dilute the SGPC or to hold it captive through unethical back-door entries.

Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh offered the Shipki-La route between India and China as an alternative to reach Mansarovar in Tibet.

Expressing concern over the import of apple into the country, the CM said that it had threatened the livelihood of apple growers in his state which produces 6 lakh metric tonnes of apple every year and it was the main source of income for more than 1.64 lakh families. “We urge that import duty on apple be raised on priority ,” he said.