Punjab Assembly passes resolutions to reopen river water sharing disputes
The state passed five resolutions seeking equitable Yamuna water shares and Rs 1.44 lakh crore in royalty from Rajasthan.
The Punjab Assembly passed five resolutions on Tuesday, October 27, seeking to revisit decades-old river water sharing arrangements. The resolutions include demands for an equitable share of Yamuna waters and Rs 1.44 lakh crore in royalty from Rajasthan for using Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas waters.
The move follows a September 7 commitment made by the state government to farmers who held a weeklong protest near Chandigarh. The government promised to hold a special Assembly session and seek a review or repeal of Sections 78, 79, and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.
Other resolutions seek control over key headworks, the repeal of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, and projects to use Ravi waters flowing towards Pakistan. The current disputes involve the division of Ravi-Beas waters, which became complex after Haryana was created in 1966.
In January 1955, an estimated 15.85 MAF of surplus Ravi-Beas waters was allocated, with 8 MAF to Rajasthan, 7.2 MAF to undivided Punjab, and 0.65 MAF to Jammu and Kashmir. Kuldip Singh, former head of the Department of Political Science at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, said the 8 MAF allocation to Rajasthan was a strategic arrangement.
A 1981 Tripartite Agreement among Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan revised the allocation of 17.17 MAF. Under this, Punjab received 4.22 MAF, Haryana 3.5 MAF, Rajasthan 8.6 MAF, Jammu and Kashmir 0.65 MAF, and Delhi 0.2 MAF.
The Eradi Tribunal, established in 1986, recommended 5 MAF for Punjab and 3.83 MAF for Haryana in its January 1987 report. However, the dispute remained unresolved and the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal was not finished.