Punjab Demands Share of Yamuna Water

During the Punjab Assembly session on Tuesday, the Punjab government demanded its share of the Yamuna’s water. Recently, meetings were held at the central level to distribute the Yamuna’s surplus water. These meetings discussed sharing shares with Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and even Rajasthan, but Punjab was neither invited to these meetings nor was its share discussed. Punjab has vociferously complained about why it was not given its share of the Yamuna’s water. Haryana demands a 60:40 share in water allocation, and the dispute over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal has been pending in court for years. The Chief Minister said that he made it clear in meetings with the Union Home Minister on the SYL issue that Punjab does not have a single drop of surplus water. The Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal agreement has been pending since 1958 and is meaningless in the current circumstances. The SutlejYamuna Link Canal does not even have enough water for the state’s agriculture. How can we provide it to others? The Chief Minister said that instead of calling it the SutlejYamuna Link, it should be called the Yamuna-Satluj Link. He added that when the surplus water from the Yamuna is being distributed, why is Punjab being neglected? Previously, the Yamuna flowed through undivided Punjab, and Haryana was a part of it. Now, you are giving water to Haryana, but Punjab’s share is not mentioned. We do not accept this. The Chief Minister, referring to Rajasthan, said that the excess water we supply to them is recycled and sold further. In this way, Rajasthan is selling our raw materials, so we have the right to demand royalties from Rajasthan, while you are depriving us of our share of Yamuna water. Thus, the resolution passed in the Punjab Assembly states that we cannot provide water from the Sutlej River; like other states, we also need water from the Yamuna River. Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Goyal has also stated that the Ravi River’s water flows towards Pakistan after the Madhopur Headworks. The demand is to stop the Ravi’s water flowing towards Pakistan and divert it to the Ranjit Sagar Dam. In this regard, Punjab has developed the Ravi-Beas Link Project, and it should be approved. Other states are demanding water from Punjab based on agreements, but Punjab itself stands in the queue of states demanding water.