The North News
Chandigarh, May 3
In an escalating inter-state water dispute, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has convened meeting at 5 pm today after the Union Government advised Punjab to comply with BBMB’s decision to release 4,500 cusecs of additional water from the Bhakra Dam to Haryana for eight days. The directive—meant to address what the Centre called “urgent water needs” in Haryana and parts of Rajasthan—was met with fierce opposition in Punjab, where political rivals came together in rare unanimity to reject the move.
The controversy has added fresh fuel to a decades-old conflict over river water sharing in northern India. The central government held a meeting in New Delhi under the chairmanship of the Union Home Secretary, with representatives from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and the BBMB in attendance. In an official statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that the BBMB was advised to implement its decision and ensure the extra release of water.
A high-level meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary was held in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the implementation of a Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) directive to release 4,500 cusecs of additional water to Haryana for eight days.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the central government, as well as representatives from BBMB partner states—Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
Following deliberations, officials advised that BBMB’s decision to release extra water from the Bhakra Dam to Haryana should be implemented immediately to address urgent water needs in Haryana and parts of Rajasthan.
It was also agreed that Punjab would receive equivalent water during the dam-filling period later this year to meet any additional requirements. BBMB is expected to convene a board meeting shortly to finalise the modalities of the water release.
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini called an all-party meeting in his state, asserting the necessity of the water release. But in Punjab, the response was starkly different.
At all-party meeting called by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh, leaders from the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI) jointly denounced the Centre’s directive on Friday. They accused the BBMB of being biased and criticised what they described as the Centre’s “high-handedness.”
