Punjab slams Haryana for spreading misconceptions on water sharing

Chandigarh, May 3 (IANS) Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Saturday slammed Haryana for spreading misconceptions about the water sharing issue.

Goyal gave all facts related to this matter, asserting that Punjab has not withheld anyone's rightful share and will neither surrender its own rights nor bow to pressure from the Centre or Haryana. He clarified that Punjab's interests come first for the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government, and only Punjab has rights over its waters.

Elaborating on the issue, the Minister told the media that the water distribution from dams has been occurring according to stored volume for around 44 years. Haryana was allocated 2.987 MAF of water this year and has already utilised its allocated share. He said that Haryana has exceeded its target by using a total of 104 per cent of its water allocation, mentioning that the Punjab government has been writing letters to Haryana since January about this matter and keeping the Union government informed.

Goyal said a letter was also written on March 17, warning Haryana that it was not using its share of water judiciously, which could lead to difficulties in the coming days. However, instead of improving its water management, Haryana consumed all its water allocation by March itself.

He said on March 31, Haryana requested, indicating that it needed 1,500 cusecs of water for its population of 2.8 crore at a standard rate of 135 litres per person per day.

It also requested 1,149 cusecs for Delhi and cited additional needs for industry and even animals, totalling a demand of 4,082 cusecs. Out of humanitarian consideration, the Punjab government began releasing 4,000 cusecs of water for Haryana from April 4 to meet drinking water requirements, but now Haryana is demanding 8,500 cusecs, which is impossible to provide.

Goyal said Haryana argues that previous governments had provided this water. The Water Resources Minister said that previous governments failed to protect Punjab's water resources, and Punjab wasn't even utilising its own share then. However, since the Chief Minister Mann-led government took office, continuous efforts have been made to ensure water reaches Punjab's fields. More than 16,000 water courses have been constructed and rejuvenated. Similarly, more than Rs 4,550 crore have been spent on developing the canal infrastructure, while Rs 3,264 crore are being spent this year.

“In this way, we are no longer letting Punjab's water go to waste in other states, and Punjab's water is reaching the state's fields, which will increase farmers' yields while also beginning to conserve groundwater. All these facts clearly showcase that Punjab neither infringes upon anyone's rights nor relinquishes its own,” he added.

--IANS

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