Rs3.2 cr dues unpaid, supply from Harike barrage to Bikaner cut

Quote: Maintenance charges pending

Advertisement

“Rajasthan has to pay Rs 80 lakh on account of annual maintenance charges. The dues have not been cleared for the past four years.” – Punjab Irrigation Department

Raj Sadosh

Abohar/Sriganganagar, January 7

Water supply from the Harike barrage to the Gang canal (Bikaner) has been reduced, as Rajasthan has allegedly not paid maintenance charges to Punjab for the past four years.

Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (KSS) spokesperson Subhash Sehgal said water discharge from the Gang canal that is considered the lifeline of farmers of the border district, Sriganganagar, known as ‘Punjab of Rajasthan’, has been slashed from 2,200 cusecs to 1,700 cusecs in the past three days.

When the KSS approached senior officers of the Punjab Irrigation Department today, they were told that Rajasthan had to pay Rs 80 lakh on account of annual maintenance charges.The dues had not been cleared for the past four years, piling up to Rs 3.2 crore.

The officials claimed that a tripartite agreement was executed at a meeting held in Shimla on September 4, 1920, between the then princely states of Bahawalpur, Bikaner and Punjab. The two states had agreed to pay the annual maintenance charges to Punjab.

After the partition of Punjab in August 1947, Bahawalpur merged in West Punjab province of Pakistan and Bikaner became a part of Rajasthan. The Gang canal (Bikaner) was founded by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, and (East) Punjab carried the responsibility its maintenance. The Rajasthan Government had become irregular in paying its maintenance charges to the neighboring state of Punjab, as per the officials.

Sehgal said the Rajasthan Water Resources Department officials in Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh had submitted requisition for funds to Jaipur, but the response was awaited. The KSS urged Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to intervene immediately, else the farmers would suffer heavy economic losses due to the slashed canal water supply.