WSN Service

CHANDIGARH: While Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal asked the Central Government to deploy the Indian Army to dig up the proposed Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal to take away Punjab’s water to Haryana, the Sikh militants unsuccessfully tried to halt the existing water supply to Haryana through the Bhakra Mainline canal when they fired rockets to destroy the Bhakra aqueduct in Ropar district.

These two contradictory developments highlighted the growing controversy on the Punjab water issue. During the week, Haryana’s Chief Minister Bhajan Lal joined the issue after his irrigation and power minister, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, had expressed the view that the S.Y.L. construction would soon be expedited.

The Chief Minister revealed at a public function at Hissar that he had already discussed the S.Y.L. issue with the Prime Minister to plead with him that the canal should be completed under the protection of the Army. He had also written to the Prime Minister, he said.

Mr. Bhajan Lal did not exactly reveal the Prime Minister’s own reaction. It is well known that the Andhra politician could not be unaware of the constitutional rights of Punjab over its entire water wealth. For, Andhra itself never allowed any diversion of water to Tamil Nadu State even though the two regions earlier formed part of a single State as was the case with Punjab and Haryana.

Two other former Haryana Chief Ministers, too, came out with public statements on the water issue during the week. Mr. Banarsi Das Gupta said the Punjab river waters belonged to the Government of India (a claim Delhi itself never made) and it was free to transfer water to Haryana. Mr. Bansi Lal, in another statement, argued that Punjab “as big brother of Haryana” should allow water to go to that State.

 Evidently the Haryana politicians are blowing hot and cold in the same breath to highlight the fact that they attach the highest importance to the water issue. In Punjab, certain amount of realization of the importance of the water issue has woken up the Mann Akali Dal to reiterate that the party was opposed to the construction of the S.Y.L. canal. The militants, too, are opposing Haryana’s and Delhi’s colonial exploitation of Punjab waters in their own peculiar way.

Among Punjab’s militant leaders, Bhai Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala is said to be quite articulate on the water issue. He understands the importance of the need to assert Punjab’s total rights to the State’s three rivers, He appears to feel that Punjab will have to retain its water rights even after the formation of Khalistan. Thus he rejects the contention of certain persons that the water issue is not that important and had been “overshadowed” by Khalistan. Mostly such persons have been influenced of Punjab’s water and power out of Punjab and said that the government’s policies had brought the three border districts as well as Punjab’s other areas including its cities on the verge of ruination. But, surprisingly, the Baba’s political arm, the A .I .S.S. F. (Manjit) is silent on the issue. It has not spelled out its plans even in its election manifesto on the water and power issues.

The Badal and Barnala groups are also silent on the matter which is understandable because the two groups are committed to the construction of the S.Y.L. canal for Haryana through their support to the Rajiv Longowal accord. The Prime Minister recently announced that new proposals on Punjab are under discussion. He did not reveal with whom. But it is believed that Gurtej Singh and certain A.LS.S.F, politicians as also the Badal and Barnala groups are willing to sacrifice Punjab’s water and power interests for Delhi’s permission to come to power.

 The Bhartiya Kisan Union leader, Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, in a statement at Chandigarh said that Punjab alone was the rightful owner of Punjab’s river waters and Mr. Bhajan Lal had issued the recent Statement at the instigation of the Prime Minister. It showed the Center’s true intentions, Lakhowal added. He called for mass action to stop the construction of the S.Y.L. canal.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 12, 1991