Punjab Moves SC over water issue, Haryana calls it 'dilatory tactic'

Chandigarh, Feb 6 (IANS) The Punjab government has moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to the central government to set up a tribunal to decide whether Haryana and Rajasthan were riparian states for water sharing. The Haryana government immediately termed the move a "dilatory tactic".

"On the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the state government has moved the Supreme Court of India under article 131 of the constitution, seeking that the union government be directed to constitute an appropriate tribunal under section 4 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 and refer to it the disputes raised by the state of Punjab in its earlier complaint with the government of India under section 3 of the said act for adjudication.

"Apart from this, Punjab also sought adjudication of the question whether Haryana and Rajasthan are riparian states or not," a spokesman of Punjab chief minister's office said Friday.

In its petition, the Punjab government has pleaded that it had, in its complaint to the union government filed long time back, raised a dispute and sought constitution of an appropriate Tribunal for reallocation of the Ravi-Beas waters.

It pointed out that there was drastic reduction in the availability of Ravi-Beas waters from 17.17 MAF (million acre feet) to 14.37 MAF based on 1981-2002 flow series. The water has got further reduced to 13.38 MAF based on the latest flow series 1981-2013, the spokesman said.

The Punjab government pointed out that the state was dealing with water scarcity and alarming reduction in ground water level. It also said that Haryana had availability of additional 4.65 MAF of water under the Yamuna agreement signed May 12, 1994 among Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

The Punjab government claimed that its plea for the setting up of a tribunal was pending with the central government for the past many years.

Reacting to the decision of Punjab, the Haryana government spokesman said that it was done only to delay matters.

"The step taken by the government of Punjab would at best be a dilatory tactic to delay the favourable decision in the matter in favour of Haryana," he said.

He said that the Haryana government had already decided to file a suit in the Supreme Court to challenge the unilateral scrapping of the Tripartite Water Settlement of 1974 by Punjab.

"The commitment of the government of Haryana is to provide justice to its farmers by the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal and the Hansi-Butana Canal at the earliest," he added.