Punjab boycotts BBMB meeting on extra 4,500 cusecs of water for Haryana, cites 7-day notice rule

The source added that if the BBMB did not respond to the “request”, Punjab would boycott the meeting. “We have told the BBMB that at least seven days’ notice was needed under section 7 of the BBMB Rules and Regulations 1976 to call a meeting of partner states. It cannot be held at a few hours’ notice.”

A high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Friday advised the partner states to implement the BBMB decision to release additional 4,500 cusecs of water to Haryana for the next eight days to meet the state’s urgent water requirements. The Centre had given a middle path to the sparring states, telling Haryana to borrow water from Punjab for eight days and return it during the filling period of the dams.

However, with Punjab not attending the meeting, Haryana will not get water till the decision is finalised in a board meeting. Earlier, Punjab had rejected the board decision.

The Union home secretary asked the BBMB on Friday to immediately convene a meeting of the partner states to work out the modalities for releasing extra water to Haryana to meet the urgent needs of the state and some parts of Rajasthan. The BBMB then slated the meeting for 5 pm on Saturday.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the central government, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana as well as BBMB representatives. From Punjab, it was attended by Water Resources Secretary Krishan Kumar and Home Secretary Alok Shekhar who, sources said, emphasised that the state cannot share more water.

“All we know is that we need more water ahead of paddy transplantation. There also is an immediate requirement for cotton sowing. In the Delhi meeting, our officials raised the issue of low water levels in the dams due to scanty snowfall this season,” said an official.

The BBMB decides the annual quota of water supply to the partner states for a yearly cycle beginning May 21 each year.

The row erupted after the BBMB, in a meeting on Wednesday, decided to release 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana every day instead of 4,000 cusecs flowing currently. The decision was taken despite Punjab submitting a dissent note. The next day, protests broke out in Punjab and Minister Harjot Bains locked a room at the Nangal dam from where water flow downstream is regulated.

In Haryana, meanwhile, political parties have alleged that Punjab has capped the Bhakra water supply to the state at 4,000 cusec, even as the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue has remained a bone of contention between the two states for the past several years.

In the Delhi meeting, Punjab officials informed the Union home secretary that Haryana had exhausted its quota in March and was being given 4,000 cusec water every day on humanitarian grounds for drinking purposes even though the state‵s requirement was only 1,700 cusecs.