Punjab has reiterated before the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal that it cannot share any additional water from the two rivers with Haryana and Rajasthan, arguing that neither state lies within the basin area.
The position was conveyed during the Punjab visit of the three-member tribunal headed by Justice Vineet Saran (Retd). The state government hosted the delegation, arranging aerial inspections of canal headworks in Ferozepur.
Officials stressed that only Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir fall within the basin. They pointed out that Rajasthan continues to receive 50 per cent of Ravi-Beas waters under the 1955 agreement, despite being outside the basin.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann met the tribunal in Amritsar, highlighting efforts to maximise use of available waters. At a dinner meeting, he reportedly emphasised measures to ensure canal water reaches farmers at tail-end areas, reducing groundwater dependence and desertification risks.
Punjab’s Water Resources Department presented its historical case, noting that undivided Punjab had access to 176.37 million acre-feet (MAF) of water before Partition, which has now shrunk to 15.14 MAF from the eastern rivers of the Indus system. Officials argued Punjab was excluded from Yamuna waters despite being part of the inter-state system. Of the 15.85 MAF in Ravi-Beas, Punjab receives 4.22 MAF, Rajasthan 8.8 MAF, and Haryana 3.5 MAF.
The tribunal also visited the Luther Canal system in Ferozepur, where officials flagged pollution from effluents discharged by leather factories in Kasur, Pakistan. The delegation inspected Harike, the Rajasthan feeder and Ferozepur feeder canals.
This latest assertion underscores Punjab’s long-standing demand for equitable water allocation, as the tribunal continues its hearings on the contentious issue.