Ravi-Beas tribunal visit to Ropar cancelled after farmers’ protest

A scheduled visit of the Ravi‑Beas Waters Tribunal (RBWT) to key river infrastructure sites in Ropar district was cancelled following large-scale protests by members of the Kirti Kisan Union, who linked the inspection to renewed efforts to revive the contentious Sutlej‑Yamuna Link Canal (SYL).

According to the district administration, the tribunal members were to inspect the Bhakra Dam project area and Lohand Khad, the point where water from the Anandpur Sahib Hydel Canal is released back into the Sutlej river.

Following road blockades and demonstrations by farmers, authorities deferred the visit citing law and order concerns. Officials said the inspection would be rescheduled after consultations with stakeholders.

Farmer leaders alleged on social media that the tribunal’s visit was linked to attempts by the Union Government to push forward the SYL canal project. Protesters maintained that Punjab does not have surplus water to share and warned against any move that could revive canal construction. Traffic on key routes in Ropar remained disrupted for several hours.

The dispute over Ravi-Beas waters dates back to 1955, when allocation of surplus waters was first made during an inter-state conference. After the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, disagreements arose between Punjab and the newly created Haryana.

In 1976, the Government of India issued a notification reallocating the share of erstwhile Punjab between Punjab and Haryana as the two states failed to reach a consensus. The allocation was subsequently revised through the 1981 Agreement signed by Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Under the 1981 agreement, the allocation was as follows:

Punjab: 4.22 Million Acre Feet (MAF)

Haryana: 3.5 MAF

Rajasthan: 8.6 MAF

Delhi: 0.2 MAF (fixed)

Jammu & Kashmir: 0.65 MAF (fixed)

The RBWT was constituted in April 1986 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act pursuant to the Rajiv‑Longowal Accord to adjudicate disputes relating to the sharing of Ravi and Beas waters.

The tribunal submitted its report on January 30, 1987. However, references made by the governments of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and the government of India seeking clarifications and raising objections to aspects of the report have remained pending consideration before the tribunal. These unresolved references have contributed to the prolonged continuation of proceedings.

The matter has since witnessed decades of litigation, repeated extensions of the tribunal’s tenure and continued disagreement over assessment of water availability and utilisation.

As of February 2026, the tribunal continues to function with Justice Vineet Saran as Chairman and Justices P Naveen Rao and Suman Shyam as members.

The SYL canal project was conceived to carry Haryana’s allocated share of the Ravi-Beas waters. While Haryana maintains that it is entitled to its share as per allocation arrangements and subsequent legal pronouncements, Punjab has consistently argued that it faces water scarcity and cannot part with additional water.

The cancelled Ropar inspection was understood to be part of the tribunal’s effort to gather updated hydrological and technical data relating to river flows, canal systems and present ground realities a routine aspect of inter-state water adjudication.

However, amid heightened sensitivities surrounding the SYL issue, even routine procedural steps continue to trigger political and public reactions in Punjab.

With the tribunal’s proceedings still underway and references pending, the Ravi-Beas water dispute remains one of the country’s longest-running inter-state river conflicts, keeping the SYL canal issue firmly in the spotlight.