If SAD comes to power in Punjab, it will terminate all river water-sharing pacts: Sukhbir

File image of Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday announced that if his party comes to power in Punjab in 2027, it will terminate all river water-sharing agreements with any state.

"The Shiromani Akali Dal, on coming to power in 2027, will terminate all water sharing agreements of Punjab signed by any government at any point of time, with any state," Badal said.

He said the neighbouring states, especially Rajasthan, has no right on Punjab waters, "but it is unfortunate that it is unduly getting nearly half of our total water".

"Now when Punjab is suffering from severe floods, caused due to heavy rains in Himachal, none of these neighbouring states has come forward to receive the extra water to rescue our human lives, land and livestock. We will set things right, it's my commitment to the Punjabis," he told reporters during a party event in Jalandhar.

He said Punjab has an inalienable right over the river waters flowing across it and added the Riparian Principle also makes this quite clear.

Earlier in 2004 when the government led by Amarinder Singh, who was then in the Congress, was in power, the state Assembly in July 2004 had enacted the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, annulling all inter-state agreements signed by Punjab relating to sharing of Ravi and Beas waters.

However, a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, while answering the Presidential Reference on November 11, 2016, had held that the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004 was unconstitutional.

Badal, while speaking about the recent floods and how they had ravaged the state, said, "When there is flooding, we lose lives and our crops and households. But when there is need for water, the same is diverted to Rajasthan and Haryana. This is a great injustice which we will not tolerate".

According to a party statement, he alleged that previous Congress governments had robbed the state of its waters by allocating 8 MAF out of 15.85 MAF Ravi-Beas waters to Rajasthan.

Badal also said the SAD had fought a relentless battle to thwart the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and had even achieved success in this.

"Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal even succeeded in getting the Punjab Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal Land Bill, 2016 approved in the Vidhan Sabha following which all land acquired for construction of the SYL canal was returned to farmers," said Sukhbir Badal.

Asserting that the SAD would now take this fight further, Badal said "we are convinced that all water sharing agreements were unfairly thrust onto Punjab by successive Congress governments and are against the laws of natural justice and deserve to be terminated. We are seeking legal counsel and will move in this direction once we form the next government in the State".

Badal also condemned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for allegedly willfully allowing the submergence of vast tracts of land in Punjab by failing to act on the BBMB's advice to take due caution before opening of the flood gates of the Bhakra dam three days back.

"I was informed by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) authorities that they had advised the Punjab government to take cautionary measures four days before opening of the flood gates," he said.