Waters from the Himachal Pradesh’s Ravi-Beas basin do not belong to Haryana. SAD
Sukhbir Singh Badal, head of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), said on Friday that since Haryana is not a riparian state, it has no claim to the waters of the Ravi-Beas basin in Himachal Pradesh.
SAD leader Badal told reporters that without the approval of the state downstream, Himachal Pradesh should not transfer river waters to a non-riparian state.
According to news reports, talks between Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have begun to build a canal that would transport river waters directly from Himachal to Haryana. A meeting to finalise this agreement is reportedly scheduled for June 5. Badal responded, “Another conspiracy has been initiated to rob Punjab of its River waters. At all costs, we won’t let it succeed.
As the upstream and downstream states, respectively, Himachal and Punjab are co-owners of the river waters, according to the head of the Akali Dal. “The upstream state cannot transfer water out of the watershed without giving due consideration to the rights of the downstream state,” he said.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, was asked by the SAD president not to engage in any negotiations over the transfer of river waters from Himachal to Haryana. He said that without Punjab’s permission, Himachal could not transfer any water to a non-riparian state.
It would be like revisiting old wounds to bring up this subject after the SYL Canal in Punjab was closed by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who gave the farmers who had donated land for the canal their land back. These might result in bitter inter-state and inter-people conflict, which would be harmful to regional peace, according to Badal.
The SAD leader also cautioned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann not to let this very delicate matter, which included the lives and livelihoods of Punjabi farmers, catch him off guard.
The Aam Aadmi Party administration has previously been criticised for failing to defend the state’s interests when faced with several anti-Punjab judgements. To prevent this plot from taking hold, the chief minister has to intervene proactively, Badal said.
The Punjab Congress was also questioned by the SAD leader over its position on the matter.
“The Congress enjoys adopting various positions on the same topic in various states. In the same way that it opposed moves by the Congress high command to support the Aam Aadmi Party on the issue of a central ordinance to limit the powers of the Delhi government, the Punjab Congress must persuade its high command to direct the Himachal CM not to reach any agreement with his counterpart in Haryana to divert river waters to the latter state, Badal said.
