Punjab Assembly Passes Resolutions Asserting Rights Over River Waters, Seeking Royalty from Rajasthan

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab assembly today unanimously passed five resolutions asserting the state’s rights over its river waters, control of key irrigation headworks, the Dam Safety Act, 2021, and the recovery of water charges from Rajasthan. The five resolutions were moved by State Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal. With the passage of these resolutions signals a major political outreach by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the farming community, while bringing the politically sensitive issue of river-water sharing to the forefront of political debate ahead of the upcoming 2027 assembly elections. The resolutions were supported by BSP MLA Nachattar Pal and rebel SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali. The AAP government had agreed to pass some of these resolutions in the assembly during its discussions with Samyukt Kisan Morcha leaders and BKU Ekta Ugrahan leaders earlier this year. The move assumes significance as the party looks to consolidate its support among farmers ahead of the elections. Out of the five the fourth resolution passed by the assembly sought royalty from Rajasthan for water supplied to the state from the Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers. Reading out the resolution, Goyal argued that Punjab, which faces increasing pressure on its groundwater resources and has substantial agricultural water requirements of its own, should not be expected to supply water to Rajasthan free of cost when the latter uses it for irrigation, drinking and commercial purposes and even earns revenue from it and maintains that Rajasthan is not a riparian state and should share the financial burden associated with the water it receives. It called upon the Rajasthan government and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to acknowledge the liability, ensure annual payments and settle the cost of the water supplied. Goyal said Rajasthan should acknowledge its liability to Punjab and pay the outstanding amount, while the Ministry of Jal Shakti should ensure that the neighbouring state clears its dues. A similar resolution seeking royalty for water supplied to non-riparian states was passed in the Vidhan Sabha on November 16, 2016, by the previous SAD-BJP government.