‘Mann a willing tool in conspiracy to take Sutlej waters to Haryana’

“The river linkage is aimed at taking away Sutlej waters to Haryana on the pretext of creating a shared pool of water,” he said, adding that “Bhagwant Mann must prepare to face agitation against this idea.”

He added, “The whole idea is preposterous. If Haryana is to get only Yamuna waters from combined pool why not simply ask it to continue to utilise it as it is doing now.” He said “the Shiromani Akali Dal would oppose this conspiracy tooth and nail and not a single drop of water belonging to Punjab would be allowed to be taken away from us against the well laid riparian principle.”

However, unlike Haryana and the Centre, Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma has taken a tough stand on Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal water-sharing issue when he said that the Punjab BJP won’t allow anyone to take even a drop of water outside the state. Punjab’s AAP regime has also echoed this sentiment on the issue.

Sharma said, “The Centre is very serious on the SYL issue. However, as per the Indian riparian law, only Punjab has the right over its water. Punjab doesn’t have extra water to share with any state.”
He added, “As of now, out of 146 blocks in Punjab, 117 have been exploited to the hilt, as the groundwater level has dipped in these blocks.

So, the old reference of 1966 Punjab Reorganisation Act shouldn’t be mentioned here. It is no longer relevant in the present conditions. Also, Punjab’s cropping pattern should not be a yardstick to study the usage of water in the state.”

At present, Punjab needs 550 million acre feet of water, but the state is getting only 1.25 million acre feet of water, according to data procured from sources. “Earlier 60% of the area used to be irrigated through canal water which has now come down to 25%. Punjab’s farmers are dependent on water supply from tubewells to irrigate their fields and are spending a huge amount of money on it. So in the present conditions, I strongly feel that the state is not having even a drop of water to spare.

Punjab BJP stands behind the residents of the state on the SYL canal issue and we will not allow anyone to take even a drop of water from our state,” Sharma added. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has stated that Haryana will take its share of water from Punjab.