BBMB allocates water as per demand of partner states

The Technical Committee of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has allocated water to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan from the Nangal Dam according to their demand.

As per a decision taken at a meeting held on May 15, Punjab will get 17,000 cusecs of water, Rajasthan 12,400 cusecs and Haryana 10,300 cusecs.

There, however, lies a catch in case of Haryana. According to the minutes of the meeting accessed by The Tribune, Haryana has been allotted 10,300 cusecs for 10 days beginning from May 21, based on the “safe carrying capacity” of the Bhakra Main Line (BML) canal. The canal carries water to parts of both Punjab and Haryana.

Punjab has all along been claiming that the canal required maintenance work due to which it could not carry water “up to its optimum carrying capacity”.

The carrying capacity of the canal is 11,200 cusecs, against its design capacity of 12,500 cusecs. Punjab will also be using 3,000 cusecs from it, leaving only 8,200 cusecs that will flow into Haryana.

This is bound to leave Haryana with 2,100 cusecs less water than its demand.

In the meeting, Punjab had objected to the increase in water allocation to Haryana, saying the neighbouring state had 70 per cent share in the water flowing through the canal.

At the meeting, it was also decided that a committee, comprising members from partner states, Central Water Commission and the BBMB, would be constituted to address issues like accounting for the filling and depletion period of dams and losses and gains on actual basis instead of taking conventional values.

Punjab had also urged that the repair work on the third tunnel of Pong Dam not be carried out as the demand for water for irrigating paddy fields would increase from June onwards.

Rajasthan Government officials had also given their consent in this regard.

The Board has now decided not to go ahead with the maintenance work. As a result, the release from Pong Dam will be 4,000 cusecs, beginning May 21.