E-Paper
Northern Zonal Council: Punjab seeks new tribunal to assess river water situation
Minister says groundwater levels depleting, Punjab has no water to share with other states, Haryana should share Yamuna water
Punjab government on Friday sought the setting up of a new water Tribunal for assessment of river water in the state.
Putting forth the stand of the state during meeting of Northern Zonal Council (NZC), chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah, here on Saturday, Punjab cabinet minister Harjot Singh Bains, while opposing issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, said Punjab doesn’t have even a single drop of water to share with other states.
He said that the groundwater level in state is already depleting and most of the blocks are in dark zone. Bains said that the river-water sharing assessments done by tribunals in the past are now obsolete and that a fresh tribunal must be constituted to assess the current situation.
Citing the Indus commission report of 1972, Bains demanded that Haryana should share Yamuna river water with Punjab.
On the status of PU
Finance minister Harpal Cheema opposed any change in the nature and character of the Panjab University (PU). Cheema stated that PU was established in Lahore and after partition it was shifted to Hoshiarpur and then to Chandigarh. He said that any move to convert PU into a Central University will be opposed tooth and nail. He categorically said that the university has an emotional place in the hearts of people of Punjab on account of historical, cultural and provincial reasons.
On BBMB appointments
The ministers also opposed the discontinuation of a member from Punjab on Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). They said there should be no tampering with the existing provisions of the BBMB. Both Cheema and Bains also opposed the proposal of Rajasthan and Haryana governments to fully fill the Pong and Bhakra Dam. They said that it results in floods in Punjab, and leads to loss of life and property in the state.
