Punjab rakes up claim over river waters, Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Jan 12 (IANS) The 20th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council Standing Committee, dealing with inter-state issues of the northern states, on Thursday saw Punjab putting forward its case pertaining to its rights.

The meeting in Mohali near here saw officers from the Inter State Council Secretariat of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in attendance along with Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and Adviser to the UT Chandigarh, besides Secretaries of the different departments of Chandigarh.

Punjab presented its viewpoint on whole gamut of sensitive issues viz. river waters of Punjab, the state's right to Chandigarh and Panjab University, demand for a tribunal to assess current situation with regard to the river waters, increasing international flights from the Mohali airport, starting UDAN scheme from four airports, strengthening the international borders, uniform policy for purchasing land, etc.

In his inaugural speech, Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua batted for the cooperative federalism and said such meetings are the right platform for bringing to the fore inter-state matters and debate upon their solutions.

He made it clear that as per the current state of river waters, Punjab itself is facing shortage of water, hence it doesn't has extra water to spare for the other states.

"These are emotional issues for Punjab and being the parent state, it has full right on its capital but which has been denied to it all along," said Janjua, adding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also pressed state's claims on these issues.

He said that in keeping with the principles of One Nation One Family, there must be a uniform policy concerning buying and selling of land in all the states of the country. It is imperative for Punjab for these issues to be sorted out, he added.

During the agenda wise discussions, Principal Secretary, Water Resources Krishan Kumar apprised that the level of water which was available with Punjab at the time of river waters agreements has come down drastically and the state itself is face to face with the paucity of this precious resource.

He argued that a new tribunal regarding the assessment of Ravi-Beas river waters is the need of the hour, besides pressing for water to Punjab from Yamuna.

Likewise, the unnatural construction of the Hansi-Butana canal causes 38 villages in Punjab to be flooded, he said.

Rooting for the resolution of Lissara Nallah by Haryana, Kumar also highlighted the importance of mini hydel projects on the Bhakhra Main Line, apart from making a strong case for a permanent member from Punjab in the Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

Financial Commissioner, Revenue, K.A.P. Sinha pointed out that Chandigarh must go to Punjab for the latter being the parent State. He further made out a robust and rationale case for the resident of any state being able to purchase land in another state.

Presenting the case of Punjab for increasing the international flights from the Mohali International Airport in a logical and crystal clear manner, Principal Secretary, Civil Aviation, Rahul Bhandari said Punjab has invested in the project and moreover, it is the demand of present scenario considering a huge number of Punjabi diaspora in Canada and other countries to expand the number of international flights.