Floods in Punjab man-made disaster, not natural calamity, says committee

In a strongly worded press meet, members of the Public Action Committee (PAC) alleged that the recent floods in the state were not a natural calamity but a man-made disaster, aggravated by systemic negligence in dam operations by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and the state government.

Addressing mediapersons, Kuldeep Singh Khaira and Er Kapil Arora highlighted that despite a historic inflow of 797,800 cusecs during the 1988 floods, the full reservoir levels (FRL) of Bhakra and Pong dams remain unchanged at 1680 ft and 1390 ft, respectively. They pointed out that the Central Water Commission had recommended revising these levels in its 2014 report, but the BBMB continues to follow the outdated 1990 Rule Curve, as confirmed in a Rajya Sabha reply.

Jaskirat Singh and Dr. Amandeep Singh Bains noted that though the BBMB claims to have adopted a new Rule Curve, the FRLs remain static. They argued that if the new curve was truly based on probable maximum flood (PMF) parameters, it should have allowed safe discharge of 797,800 cusecs without downstream flooding. Instead, premature releases from Bhakra and Pong triggered severe floods even before the reservoirs reached their designated FRLs.

The PAC members further revealed that during the 2023 floods, data from the BBMB website clearly indicated human error. Despite submitting representations to the Central and state governments demanding accountability, the data was removed from public access. In August this year, the PAC obtained fresh data and IMD warnings, prompting them to serve a demand notice to the BBMB to lower reservoir levels. BBMB, however, continued filling the dams till August 18, leading to predictable consequences.

Dr Bains and Khaira also blamed the state government for failing to act in the matter. They cited illegal mining, river encroachments and neglected bandh repairs post-2023 as factors worsening the crisis. The floods have severely impacted biodiversity, wildlife and tree cover.

The PAC has now given a petition moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT), seeking an independent audit of the BBMB and state government operations and compensation for affected citizens as per Supreme Court precedents.