CM Dilutes Assembly Resolution on Panjab’s Riparian Status

At the 10^th Governing Council meeting of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog (Commission) on 24 May, Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann brought up the state's clash with Haryana on river water distribution. He said, Panjab has no surplus water to share and if Haryana has claim over the water in Ravi and Beas rivers, then his state should have an equal claim on the waters of river Yamuna. This has been Mann's public stance for a few years now but his own government's resolutions on 5 May contradict this stand. The fourth resolution passed by the Panjab Legislative Assembly invoked Panjab's Riparian status on rivers Satluj, Ravi, and Beas and asked why is their water diverted to other states? Now, by again discussing Haryana’s claim and bringing up sharing of river Yamuna's waters, Mann is diluting this stand. Earlier, on 20 May, the Union government, Haryana, and the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) opposed Panjab’s plea for recalling the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s 6 May order over the Bhakra water dispute. Haryana described Panjab’s actions—locking up the BBMP chairman for two hours at a guest house and not allowing water to be released to Haryana—as unlawful, misleading, and in breach of judicial orders. Haryana also accused Panjab of using 22.67% more water than its allocated share from the Satluj, Ravi, and Beas rivers in the past 21 years. However, Panjab had used only 64-91% of its share in the last decade. On 22 May, the Union govt. sanctioned a contingent of 296 armed Central Industrial Security Force personnel to cover the Nangal Dam. The move came on a day when the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Panjab organized a Fateh (victory) Rally for not letting extra water to flow to Haryana till 20 May after which the next water cycle has begun. The decision to deploy central forces on dams was taken on 19 March 2021 when the Indian National Congress was ruling Panjab (earlier coverage).