Punjab has no water to spare with any state, CM Mann

Chandigarh, Jul 11 (PTI) Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday reiterated Punjab does not have surplus water to share with any other state.

Asserting that water is an emotive issue for the state and its people, Mann said the Punjab government is committed to saving every precious drop of water.

Participating in a debate on the second day of the special session of the Punjab Assembly on the resolution to oppose deployment of the CISF at the Bhakra-Nangal dam, Mann said the entire saga of waters of the state starts from 1955, but unfortunately no review of water has taken place which ideally should have taken place after every 25 years.

The chief minister said the recent decision by the government of India to suspend the Indus Water Treaty opens up the possibility of greater utilization of water from the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ujh, Kashmir rivers) within the Indian territory.

He said this can ensure additional 23 MAF (million acre feet) water for Punjab, which will be instrumental for catering to the water needs of the state and its farmers.

Mann said that waters of the western rivers should be allocated to Punjab on a priority basis and new storage dams upstream of existing Bhakra and Pong dams in Himachal Pradesh should be constructed.

The chief minister said this will significantly enhance the storage and regulation of western river waters, adding it is the need of the hour so that Punjab, which has over exploited its only available natural resources in terms of water and fertile land for making the country self-reliant in food production, is duly compensated.

Lambasting the opposition parties of Punjab, Mann said they are "non-serious" over the issue of river waters as they are the main culprits behind robbing of our waters.

These people had only misled people on the grave and emotive issue in the last more than six decades and have "hobnobbed" with the anti-Punjab forces to divest the state of its waters, he alleged.

The chief minister said people know well who asked for the survey of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal or were party to the ground breaking ceremony of the canal with silver spades.

Mann said as compared to this, his government has safeguarded the interests of Punjab by not giving even a single drop of water to other states.

Taking Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa to cudgels, Mann questioned his scant knowledge of Punjabi language and said that the senior Congress leader's convent school had probably not taught him this.

He said the Congress leaders only want a lame excuse to run from the proceedings of the House so as to avoid being "exposed" in front of people.

The chief minister said this House belongs to 3.5 crore people of Punjab and only the person elected by them has a privilege of serving them.

Slamming the Congress and the BJP for their "divisive" policies in the last few decades, Mann said the country can witness unprecedented progress in every sphere if both these parties spare the nation.

These political parties had "divided" people on sectarian, regional, lingual, communal and other lines due to which the states have been at loggerhead with each other, he said.

The chief minister said the sole motive of these people have been to get political power through such "misdeeds", which has done "irreparable damage" to the country and the states.

The country can scale new heights in any field provided these parties spare the country and its people from their nefarious designs, he added. PTI CHS AS AS