Centre should retrieve control of Bhakra Nangal dam from illegal occupation of Punjab Police: Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala
‘This is the first time in the history of India that a state has taken over a Central project in this manner by deploying police,’ alleged Randeep Surjewala.
3 min read
Criticising the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Surjewala said the two were “busy only in rhetoric and writing ‘love letters’ to each other.” Rajya Sabha MP and former Haryana cabinet minister Randeep Surjewala Sunday said the Centre should take back control of Bhakra Nangal dam from the “illegal occupation of Punjab Police”.
Addressing the media amid the ongoing standoff between Punjab and Haryana over the sharing of water, Surjewala said, “Haryana is suffering from a severe water crisis. Bhakra water [to Haryana] has been reduced from 8,500 cusecs to 4,000 cusecs, resulting in severe drinking water shortage. Nearly 215 water works have dried up, and nine districts – Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Bhiwani, Dadri, Rewari, and Mahendragarh – are plagued by an acute water crisis. Village ponds have also almost dried up, and the cattle are on the verge of dying of thirst. Tanker mafia dominates the entire state, and Rs 1,000 is being charged per tanker. Up to May 15, the cotton crop of Narma has to be sown. The ‘Cotton Bowl’ of Haryana – Sirsa, Hisar, and Fatehabad – has ceased the sowing of cotton in nearly 5,00,000 hectares.”
Criticising the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Surjewala said the two were “busy only in rhetoric and writing ‘love letters’ to each other.”
“Alternatively, they are seen together in Chandigarh getting photographed or hugging each other,” he added.
The Rajya Sabha MP said the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is a project of the Centre, and the board is formed by the Union Power Ministry.
“The BBMB board has the authority to decide the release of shares of water for Punjab and Haryana. But in the midst of all this, the power ministry of the Government of India, the Union Power Minister, Mr Manohar Lal Khattar, and the Modi Government have disappeared,” Surjewala remarked.
“On May 01, 2025, the Punjab Government deployed police at the Bhakra Nangal Dam and locked the entire system from where water is released from the Dam through the regulator gates and the Punjab police took the keys in their possession, so that Haryana’s water could not be released. This is the first time in the history of India that a state has taken over a Central project in this manner by deploying police and has, through bullying, prevented the board of a Central project from taking decisions. The responsibility for the security and control of the dam lies with the Home Ministry of the Government of India…” Surjewala said, seeking the intervention of Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The Home Ministry and the Home Secretary are silent about deploying CISF for the security of the Dam. A controversy was deliberately created over the water of the Bhakra Nangal Dam. Fact is that there is 1,556 feet of water in the Bhakra Nangal Dam at this time. If 8500 cusecs of water is given to Haryana every day, then by May 21, the current water level of the Dam will reach only 1532 feet from 1556 feet. That means even then the water will be 26 feet above the minimum water level of the Dam, which is 1506 feet. So what objection can any state have in such a situation? Objections are being created deliberately so that the BJP can support the sinking ship of Shri Bhagwant Mann,” the former Haryana minister said.
You May Like
Photos
