Punjab has no surplus water to share with neighbours: Jakhar
Chandigarh, July 28
State Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said Punjab’s first responsibility was towards its own people, particularly its farmers, and it was unfortunately not in a position to share its limited water resource with other states.
Reacting to Haryana BJP president OP Dhankar’s statement on the Supreme Court’s directions in the SYL case, Jakhar said political will could not supersede the interest of Punjab’s people. The Congress government had never shirked its humanitarian responsibility, but the acute water crisis faced by the state prevented it from sharing its resources with any other state, he added.
On Dhankar’s remarks that Punjab owed it to Haryana’s farmers to give them their due, Jakhar said as per the riparian principle, it was Punjab and its farmers who had the first right to the waters of the rivers flowing through the state. Any violation of the riparian principle would not only be against the law, but also unjust to the state’s people, he added. Pointing out that Capt Amarinder had been repeatedly asking for a fresh assessment of water availability in the Beas and Ravi, Jakhar said such a reassessment would make the ground situation clear and would endorse Punjab’s stand on the SYL issue. While the Punjab Government had no objections to a negotiated settlement on the issue, any discussion would have to take into account the situation on the ground, he added.— TNS
