Punjab Haryana water war heats up

Badal government questions integrity of the Union Irrigation ministry and its’ Central Water Commission 

Illegal Hansi-Bhutana link canal, if allowed to be completed, will displace 100,000 Punjabi farmers in 70 villages

For a background to the Hansi-Bhutana canal issue read Khalistan Calling of 12 September 2007, headlined, “Is the biased Indian Supreme Court about to ambush the Punjab government on river water disputes and settle all of them in favor of Haryana?”at:>  /home/khalistancalling/2007/september12.aspx  < and Khalistan Calling dated 6 June 2007, headlined, “Delhi and Haryana conspire to steal Punjab’s river water, with timely help from the ‘Sirsa Baba smoke screen’, via the nearly complete illegal Hansi-Bhutana link canal in Haryana,” by clicking at: (>  /home/khalistancalling/2007/june06.aspx    <)

Media reports quote details of a hard hitting statement, issued on 2 November 2007,  by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, which says that his government is gearing up to take on the Central Water Commission (CWC) which is, “clearly biased against Punjab and is blatantly favoring Haryana on the issue of Hansi-Butana branch, an illegal multi-purpose link channel. It is the same Central Water Commission which did not allow the Punjab Government to construct the Dashmesh canal, which was proposed to give water to the vast barren area of Ropar/ Mohali districts and the Banur area of Patiala.  How can it now allow the construction, by Haryana state, of the illegal Hansi-Bhutana Link canal to draw water from the Bhakra Mainline canal, as was suggested by Union Minister of State for Irrigation Jai Parkash Narain Yadav last June, who had said that, the Central Water Commission had no objection in the matter?” (> http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070602/haryana.htm#4  <)

The reports also say that the illegal Hansi-Bhutana Link Canal issue, “is expected to heat up in the days to come as the Punjab Government has already opened up the ‘front’ against the Central Water Commission. It has decided to send a team of senior level officers of the Punjab Irrigation Department to Delhi soon to confront the commission on various issues related to the illegal Hansi-Bhutana Link canal being built by Haryana.” The media report quotes a senior functionary of the Punjab state government (>  http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071103/punjab1.htm#1  <) as saying that, “Punjab had raised objections in writing before the Central Water Commission long back and a copy of objections was also sent to the Haryana Government. Haryana sent its’ reply to those objections to the Central Water Commission but did not send a copy of its reply to Punjab. However, for a long period of time, the Central Water Commission also did not send a copy of Haryana’s reply to Punjab as it should have. The government has also decided to send a team of senior level officers of the Punjab Irrigation Department to Delhi soon to confront the Centra Water Commission on various issues related to the illegal canal.” A Punjab state government functionary said Haryana was being secretly provided all information by the Central Water Commission filed before it by the Punjab Government. He was quoted as saying that, “at what level the information in the Central Water Commission is being leaked to Haryana, is not known yet but we strongly object to it.” There were reports in July 2007 that a senior Punjab minister had blamed Union minister for Water Resources, Saifuddin Soz, for, ‘adopting double standards’ for justifying the construction of the Hansi-Bhutana link canal, while the same Union ministry had opposed construction of the Dasmesh canal in Punjab’. See Khalistan Calling at:>  /home/khalistancalling/2007/july18.aspx <

Meanwhile, a preliminary report submitted by one Dr Rakesh Khosa, senior professor in the IIT, Delhi, regarding the adverse effect of the illegal Hansi-Bhutana Link canal on various areas of Punjab, will also be submitted to the Central Water Commission soon. Dr Khosa, an expert on hydrology, was engaged by the Punjab Government to seek expert opinion on “effects” of the illegal Hansi-Bhutana Link canal on various parts of Punjab. Dr Khosa has stated in his report that the alignment of the Hansi-Bhutana Link canal, which is almost complete, is in direct conflict with general features of the topography of this region. The channel runs across the prevailing slopes and in the process is expected to intercept the existing natural drainage. People residing to the north of the Hansi-Bhutana Link canal, in Punjab territory, have strongly protested against the proposed embankment of the channel on their side, as it will impede the region’s innate hydrological capacity to facilitate disposal of the flood runoff into the Ghaggar and Patiala nadi.” Dr Khosa’s report says that increased frequency of flooding on the Punjab side of the channel is anticipated because even minor flows that would have normally drained freely into Ghaggar and Patiala nadi will now be impeded and the resulting impounding of water by embankment would inundate vast tracts of land within the territory of Punjab.

The infamous Delhi-based Central Water Commission is located in New Delhi (at 313 - S, Sewa Bhavan, RK Puram, New Delhi  110 606 : Phone : +91-11-26187232) and is headed by a Chairman, who sadly happens to be a 59 years old Sikh, one Shri Baljeet Singh Ahuja, who enjoys the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.    Central Water Commission is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources and is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India. The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development. It also undertakes the investigations, construction and execution of any such schemes as required. The work of the Commission is divided among 3 wings namely, Designs and Research Wing (D&R), River Management Wing (RM) and Water Planning and Projects Wing (WP&P). Each wing is placed under the charge of a full-time Member with the status of Ex-Officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India and comprising of number of Organizations responsible for the disposal of tasks and duties falling within their assigned scope of functions.

Khalistan Calling, dated 19 September 2007, headlined, “Wake Up Punjab & remember the SYL” had reminded the Badal administration of (> /home/khalistancalling/2007/september19.aspx <) its  responsibility to save Punjab’s water resource for the future generations of Punjabis. The column exposed the quadripartite conspiracy being hatched by the Hindu-majority non-riparian state of Haryana, Hindutva engineers of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), some anti-Sikh Hindutva judges of India’s apex ‘Kangaroo’ Court, also known as the Indian Supreme Court and the Union ministry for Water Resources headed by minister Saifuddin Soz. Here was a conspiracy meant to give a ‘wink and a nod’ to non-riparian Haryana to go ahead with its dirty deed of building the illegal Hansi-Butana Link canal and then tapping the Bhakra Mainline canal in its territory to rob the Punjab while its divided leadership slumbered. Mr. Badal’s November 3 statement attacking the Central Water Commission, discussed above, is an encouraging sign if the Chief Minister is really serious.

Let us hope the different political parties in the Punjab will unite, on this vital issue of the illegal Hansi-Bhutana link canal, as they did when Captain Amrinder Singh piloted the unanimous passage of 'Punjab Termination of Agreements Bill, 2004', in the Punjab State assembly, on 12 July, 2004. See Khalistan Calling dated 14 July, 2004, headlined, “PUNJAB's FINEST HOUR ON THE SYL CANAL ISSUE: Punjab Assembly unanimously passes the historic 'Punjab Termination of Agreements Bill, 2004', on July 12 which cancels ALL past unequal agreements about Ravi/Beas waters,” at: >  /home/khalistancalling/2004/july14.aspx  < Maybe Punjabis ought to sit down and recollect the methods used so successfully some years ago to stop the Sutlej Yumna Link (SYL) canal?