Make new river tribunal, demands Punjab

CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Saturday demanded a new tribunal for assessing the state’s river water situation. At the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) meeting chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah in Jaipur, state cabinet ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Harjot Singh Bains opposed the Centre’s stands on the SYL canal, Panjab University, and Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB). Bains said Punjab had not a drop of water to share with any state, for its groundwater level had declined to a point where most of its blocks were now in the dark zone. Claiming that the previous assessment of the river water tribunals was obsolete, Bains rather demanded the Yamuna water from Haryana as recommended by the Indus Commission report of 1972.
State finance minister Cheema opposed any change in the nature and character of Panjab University, recalling that it had moved from Lahore after Partition to Hoshiarpur first and then Punjab’s capital Chandigarh. He said: “Punjab will oppose any move to convert this institute to a central university. It has sentimental value for the people of Punjab.” The Punjab ministers also opposed the discontinuation of the practice of having a member from Punjab on the BBMB for protecting the state’s interests. They also opposed the proposal from Rajasthan and Haryana to fill the Pong and Bhakra dams fully, arguing that it will bring floods to Punjab, which will destroy both life and property.”