‘Wake-up’ Punjab & remember the defunct SYL canal

A new conspiracy is brewing to steal river water from water-short Punjab by non-riparian Haryana & Rajasthan, with covert help from  the anti-Sikh Indian Supreme Court

Haryana wants to illegally siphon water from Bhakra Main line canal, Rajasthan wants Punjab to hand over the management of the regulatory Ropar, Harike and Ferozepore headworks to the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB)

The central govt. wants the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 unanimously passed by the Punjab state assembly, declared null and void by the Indian Supreme Court 

 

STOP PRESS

Supreme Court reacts favorably to a new ‘loaded’ Haryana proposal to siphon  500 cusecs of ‘drinking’ water from Bhakra main line into new 2, 086 cusec capacity illegal Hansi-Butana canal



Washington, D.C., Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - A report, by Tribune News Service correspondent, Sarbjit Dhaliwal, (headlined, “Hansi-Butana Canal Central Water Commission report favoured Haryana, allege Punjab & Rajasthan,”) published last week in the Chandigarh-based newspaper Tribune, claims that, “Punjab’s concern regarding, the Central Water Commission (CWC) playing foul in respect of a report on the (illegal) Hansi-Butana canal, to be submitted to the Supreme Court, has proved correct. What has peeved Punjab the most, claims the report, is the fact that the Central Water Commission (CWC) is not giving an impartial and reasoned report on the Hansi-Butana canal issue. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has not responded seriously to major issues raised by Punjab on flooding and water-logging and has played down technical infirmities stating that Haryana will prepare a revised project report to overcome these.” (>  http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080507/punjab1.htm  <)

The Central Water Commission (CWC) is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources and is presently functioning in an attached office of the Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi. The Central Water Commission (Chairman B. S. Ahuja, - a Sikh -  315, Sewa Bhavan (S), RK Puram, New Delhi 110 606; Tel. 02610 8855: Chief Engineer Water Planning & Projects Wing, S. M. Sood, Tel. 02619 5519) 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.

How stupid can one get? The Punjab government attorneys are talking about flooding and water logging by the illegal Hansi-Butana link canal! The dispute here is clear cut. It is whether non-riparian state of Haryana has arbitrarily, without having met with the requisite conditions under the law (and Bhakra Agreement of 1959), brazenly dug up the illegal, 109 Kilometers long Hansi-Butana Link canal, costing 354 crores, in its territory, without asking Punjab and Rajasthan (mandatory) or the Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi – also mandatory. The criminal intention behind this illegal action by the government of Haryana is, to siphon extra water from the Bhakra mainline canal, near Samana, in collaboration with the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB) whose engineers control how much water goes into that canal.  Quite a few of the BBMB engineers, according to our sources, have already been bribed (and promised a retainer stipend) by Haryana officials as these engineers control the flow of water in the Bhakra Mainline canal (serving Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana) which Haryana plans to illegally tap inside it’s territory. During the hearing of the Hansi-Butana dispute, at the Supreme Court today, the Counsel for Haryana has pulled a new ‘rabbit out of the hat’. He has suggested to Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan that initially Haryana wants only 500 cusecs of water for drinking in the new 2, 086 cusec capacity illegal Hansi-Butana canal which it will siphon without puncturing the banks of the Bhakra Main Line canal. According to media reports the Supreme Court Chief Justice has reacted favorably to this new proposal. The new move came as a surprise for the not so bright Punjab Counsel. (>  http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080515/haryana.htm#1  <) More on this later.

The above mentioned Tribune report, goes on to state that, “Punjab and Rajasthan had earlier raised questions on the handling of the Hansi-Butana issue by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and its alleged bias in favor of Haryana in this regard, and were surprised to know that the Central Water Commission had supported the cause of Haryana on this canal issue.” The Tribune report quotes a senior functionary of the Punjab government as saying that, “We have not been expecting that the Central Water Commission (CWC) would go to such an extent to support Haryana.” The Senior functionary from Punjab further said that, the CWC had toned down the objections raised by Punjab and Rajasthan on the (illegal) linking of Hansi-Butana canal to the Bhakra canal, near Samana, and had justified the Haryana government’s stand on the new link canal. The Central Water Commission has suggested that the objections, raised by Punjab and Rajasthan, ‘may not be serious, may not be significant’ etc. The report claims that Punjab and Rajasthan, which are jointly opposing Haryana on the Hansi-Butana canal issue, feel relieved that the Supreme Court has done justice to both states by taking notice of the main objections raised by them before the court. Rajasthan has informed the Supreme Court that it, like Punjab, will not give clearance to the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB) to allow Haryana to link the Hansi-Butana canal to the Bhakra canal near Samana.

The Tribune report further states, quoting a senior Punjab politician that, “Punjab feels that the Central Water Commission, a national institution, has impaired its credibility as a neutral body. The CWC (Central Water Commission) should have realized that any messing around with the Bhakra Mainline canal system, at any point of time, without consensus among the partner states can lead to dangerous consequences. Once the tinkering with the system is allowed, there will be no end to it.” The Tribune reveals that Punjab had also lodged a protest to the Central Water Commission (CWC) against not supplying to Punjab a report prepared on the Hansi-Butana canal project by Central Water Commission chief engineer A.K. Bajaj, after site visit and discussing all issues with engineers of Punjab and Haryana. “What has further made Punjab suspicious on the fairness of the CWC is the transfer of engineer A.K. Bajaj from its Central Water Commission regional office in Chandigarh to elsewhere” claims the above Tribune report.

Instead of feeling relieved and jumping to the fond conclusion (reported in the above Tribune report) that ‘the Indian Supreme Court has done justice’ Punjab should realize that the Central Water Commission (CWC) has prepared a biased (and totally anti-Punjab, pro-Haryana) technical report on the illegal Hansi-Butana canal controversy, after a ‘wink and a nod’ from the Indian Supreme Court. To understand the situation the Punjab Chief minister Badal (& Son), ought to read our column, (Khalistan Calling) dated January 02, 2008, headlined, “Indian Supreme Court plans to ambush Punjab after the New Year by deciding water disputes in Haryana’s favor.-- Punjabis MUST remember the SYL saga and organize ‘Jathas’ forthwith to help replenish the falling underground water table by siphoning water from various link canals crisscrossing Punjab.” >  http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2008/january02.aspx   <

The above mentioned January 2, 2008, Khalistan Calling, in the introductory paragraph, exposed the Central Water Commission, four months ago, and alerted the Punjab government in the following words:- “Our reliable sources in the Indian Ministry of Water Resources have reported that the Central Water Commission (CWC) has prepared a biased (and totally anti-Punjab, pro-Haryana) technical report on the illegal Hansi-Butana canal controversy for submission to the Indian Supreme Court after the New Year.” One can hardly compliment the inept Badal & Son  government of Indian occupied Punjab, for taking four and half months (exactly 125 days), to realize that the Central Water Commission (CWC) has prepared a biased (and totally anti-Punjab, pro Haryana) technical report on the illegal Hansi-Butana canal controversy for submission to the Indian Supreme Court. Something predicted in this column way back, on January 2, 2008. 

The not-very-competent Punjab government ought to be ready for another shock when BJP-ruled Rajasthan, which has currently joined Punjab in opposing Haryana on the Hansi-Butana canal issue, stabs Punjab in the back, by withdrawing its objections against Haryana ‘at the right moment’. The right moment will come when the Supreme Court decides to start the hearing on this case along with the case in which the Supreme Court had stayed the Rajasthan high court order against Punjab. In that court order the Rajasthan High Court had directed Punjab, in 2005, to hand over the management of the regulatory Ropar, Harike and Ferozepore headworks (located inside Punjab) to the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB). The ambush of Sikh-majority Occupied Punjab – the only riparian state in these disputes – will be complete when the prejudiced anti-Sikh Supreme Court pulls out the third case against Punjab, the currently ‘pigeon-holed’ Presidential reference on the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, (passed unanimously by the Punjab State assembly on July 12, 2004) which has been pending since July 22, 2004. (See Khalistan Calling dated October 4, 2004 by clicking at the following links: > http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2004/august04.aspx   < and > http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2004/july14.aspx   <

One can only wish the best of luck to the Badal (& Son) government at the Indian Supreme Court, in the year 2008, if it does not wake up from its deep slumber. The cards at that ‘Kangaroo’ apex court seem to be stacked against the Punjab. From the look of things Punjab might lose ALL its legal cases, being heard at the Supreme Court, unless the people of Sikh-majority Punjab ‘stand up’in anger, with the slogan, ‘Remember the SYL canal’ on their lips (and in their hearts) and organize themselves into Jathas ready for active civil disobedience to protect Punjab’s water resource. Then, and only then, will Punjab stand a chance of a fair hearing in the bigoted Supreme Court of the world’s largest demoNcracy - INDIA.

Punjabis in general, and Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal & Son in particular, ought to take a cue from Haryana’s hush hush construction of the illegal Hansi-Butana link canal inside it’s territory. Punjab should take action, a la Haryana, and start replenishing it’s underground water with water siphoned from canals flowing inside Punjab territory - the Ravi Beas link canal comes to mind. The chances are that this kind of provocative and robust action might improve the odds at the Supreme Court, of justice prevailing there for Punjab.

The muscular and hardy people of Punjab therefore, ought to steel themselves by remembering the robust methods which were used by Punjabi activists so successfully, some decades ago, to stop the defunct Sutlej Yumna Link (SYL) canal construction in its tracks. All Punjabis should take a vow to unite and organize themselves, right away, and ‘zero-in’ on canals, flowing inside Punjab territory, which carry Punjab river water, free of charge, to ungrateful, non-riparian states like Haryana and Rajasthan.  The Bhakra Mainline canal, which runs through Punjab territory, is another water way which comes to mind. These canals are a ready and handy source of fresh water which can be used to replenish and reduce the dangerous water pollution and falling underground water levels in the Sikh Homeland, caused by the transfer (free of charge) of Punjab’s river water to non-riparian states of Haryana and Rajasthan for the past so many years. If Haryana can do it by arbitrarily building an illegal Hansi-Butana canal in it’s territory so too can Punjab!