CHANDIGARH: The Punjab assembly today unanimously passed five resolutions asserting the state’s rights over its river waters, control of key irrigation headworks, the Dam Safety Act, 2021, and the recovery of water charges from Rajasthan.
The five resolutions were moved by State Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal. With the passage of these resolutions signals a major political outreach by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the farming community, while bringing the politically sensitive issue of river-water sharing to the forefront of political debate ahead of the upcoming 2027 assembly elections.
The resolutions were supported by BSP MLA Nachattar Pal and rebel SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali. The AAP government had agreed to pass some of these resolutions in the assembly during its discussions with Samyukt Kisan Morcha leaders and BKU Ekta Ugrahan leaders earlier this year. The move assumes significance as the party looks to consolidate its support among farmers ahead of the elections.
Out of the five the fourth resolution passed by the assembly sought royalty from Rajasthan for water supplied to the state from the Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers.
Reading out the resolution, Goyal argued that Punjab, which faces increasing pressure on its groundwater resources and has substantial agricultural water requirements of its own, should not be expected to supply water to Rajasthan free of cost when the latter uses it for irrigation, drinking and commercial purposes and even earns revenue from it and maintains that Rajasthan is not a riparian state and should share the financial burden associated with the water it receives.
It called upon the Rajasthan government and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to acknowledge the liability, ensure annual payments and settle the cost of the water supplied. Goyal said Rajasthan should acknowledge its liability to Punjab and pay the outstanding amount, while the Ministry of Jal Shakti should ensure that the neighbouring state clears its dues.
A similar resolution seeking royalty for water supplied to non-riparian states was passed in the Vidhan Sabha on November 16, 2016, by the previous SAD-BJP government.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann drew a firm line on the state’s river waters, declaring that not a single drop of Punjab’s rightful share would be surrendered as the Vidhan Sabha passed a resolution asserting the state’s rights. Vowing to fight from courts to streets, he questioned Rajasthan’s continued access to Punjab’s water without payment, pegged the state’s outstanding royalty claim at Rs 1.43 lakh crore, and asserted that Rajasthan and Haryana had no share in the waters of the Ravi and Beas.
He pointed out his government is strengthening the state’s own irrigation network, expanding canal water access from 22% to 80% of fields in four years and laying 14,000 km of underground pipelines.
Participating in discussions on resolutions concerning river waters and other important issues on the final day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha session, Mann said Punjab would no longer tolerate injustice in the distribution of its precious water resources.
"Water is a state subject, and the control of headworks rests with the states. Punjab will vigorously pursue its legitimate rights and will not allow the state’s interests to be sacrificed," he affirmed.
Questioning Haryana’s claim over Ravi-Beas waters, Mann said, "It is unfair that Haryana stakes its claim over Ravi-Beas waters while Punjab’s rightful share in Yamuna waters is ignored, despite the Yamuna being part of undivided Punjab."
Highlighting the transformation in irrigation under his government, Mann said that when his government assumed office in 2022, only 22% of Punjab’s water resources were being utilised, whereas the figure had now risen to nearly 80 per cent.
"We have undertaken an extensive overhaul of Punjab’s irrigation network to ensure that canal water reaches even the tail-end fields. By cleaning rajbahas, laying 14,000 kilometres of pipelines and rejuvenating canals and watercourses, we have strengthened the irrigation system and improved access to water for farmers," he said.
Mann said Punjab’s interests had suffered for decades, pointing out that the state received royalty on its river waters until 1960, after which the payments stopped completely.
"Punjab has a legitimate claim to Rs 1.44 lakh crore in royalties for its river waters. Rajasthan continues to receive water from Punjab free of cost and uses it for economic benefit. The people of Punjab, particularly our farmers, have made immense sacrifices to feed the nation. They cannot be expected to accept discrimination when it comes to their own natural resources," he said.
He asserted that the government would pursue every legitimate avenue to protect Punjab’s water rights and secure justice for its people.
One of the resolutions presented in the asserts Punjab’s historical and legal claim to the waters of the Yamuna, which flowed through undivided Punjab before the state’s reorganisation in 1966.
It pointed out that, unlike the Ravi and Beas, the Yamuna was excluded from formal water allocations to Punjab. It also highlights the state’s dependence on groundwater to meet its agricultural requirements, with groundwater levels depleted in 72 per cent of its blocks.
The state had filed a formal complaint with the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti on April 25, 2025, seeking the constitution of a Water Disputes Tribunal to determine its claim to an equitable share of the Yamuna’s waters. The resolution states that securing such a share is necessary to sustain agriculture and reduce pressure on groundwater resources.
Another resolution passed today challenges Section 79(1)(c) of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, under which control of the Ropar, Harike and Ferozepur irrigation headworks was assigned to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
The resolution maintains that the provision is unconstitutional and beyond Parliament’s legislative competence, arguing that water regulation falls under the State List of the Constitution. It also cites examples from other states. Goyal cited Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Karnataka and Odisha, where headworks are under the direct control of the respective state governments.
The third resolution, which was tabled and passed, seeks to reaffirm the assembly’s unanimous resolution of May 5, 2025, rejecting the Dam Safety Act, 2021. On that Goyal said the act was an attack on the country’s federal structure and demanded its repeal. He added that the House rejected the legislation.
While the fifth resolution addresses the flow of Ravi waters into Pakistan from the Madhopur Headworks, the last headworks on the river in India.
The House resolved that the Central Government be requested to execute the Ujh Multipurpose Project on a priority basis and divert the waters of the Ujh to the Ranjit Sagar Dam so that the water can be stored and fully utilised within Punjab. The House also resolved that the Central Water Commission be requested to approve the Ravi-Beas Link Project.
While Congress MLAs boycott the proceedings over the alleged denial of entry to party colleague Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who was suspended from the remaining sittings of the session on Friday for allegedly making remarks against the dignity of the Speaker.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa entered the House and raised the issue with Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. The Speaker reportedly said no MLA could be stopped from entering the House unless he had been suspended from its sittings. Dissatisfied with the response, Bajwa walked out.
Earlier, Congress MLAs burnt a broom, the election symbol of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), outside the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to protest against the government’s alleged failures on various issues. Wearing black robes and carrying placards, the legislators raised slogans against the ruling party.
Bajwa, today strongly criticised the Aam Aadmi Party government for what he described as its politics of optics, accusing it of repeatedly passing resolutions in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha without translating them into concrete legislative action or meaningful outcomes for the people.
Reacting to the confrontation between AAP and Congress MLAs during today’s Assembly proceedings, Bajwa said that the incident reflected the increasingly hostile environment in which the Opposition was being prevented from discharging its constitutional responsibility of holding the government accountable.
Before the Assembly session, Congress MLAs burned brooms, the election symbol of the Aam Aadmi Party, in support of the family of Parminder Singh Jhota, whose family continues to await justice for their murdered son. Bajwa said the protest was a powerful expression of solidarity with a grieving family and a reminder that Punjab’s people are still waiting for justice and accountability. He said the government must answer for the deteriorating law-and-order situation and ensure that the family receives justice.
Bajwa said that over the past five years, the AAP government had brought innumerable resolutions in the assembly, projecting them as major achievements. However, he questioned what tangible difference these resolutions had made to the lives of ordinary Punjabis.
"If the AAP government was genuinely interested in delivering results rather than creating headlines, it should have introduced bills on the issues for which it repeatedly brought resolutions. A resolution can make a political statement, but legislation backed by concrete implementation is what brings lasting change. For five years, this government has excelled at optics, announcements and publicity, but where is the real impact?” Bajwa asked.
He questioned the government over its failure to resolve several major issues affecting employees, youth and families across the country and Punjab.
"What happened to the notification of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)? What has this government done for our young people affected by the Agniveer scheme? Why do employees continue to wait for their pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears? These are real issues affecting real families. Instead of repeatedly passing resolutions for political mileage, the government must explain what concrete action it has taken to secure relief for the people," Bajwa said.
Meanwhile Prem Singh Bhangu President All India Kisan Federation has expressed serious concern regarding the resolution passed by Punjab Assembly on the water issues because the government has clandestinely avoided to take the constitutional stand for the resolution of water dispute on the basis of which all the illegal and unconstitutional notifications and agreements like 1976 and 1981 are liable to be set aside and Sections 78,79 and 80 of the Reorganisation Act 1966 are liable to be scrapped being ultra vires of the constitution.
The demand of constituting a tribunal also indicates its compromising stand as none of the Punjab rivers is inter state river for which central government as per entry 56 of the union list can intervene into the matter.
Water is the state subject as per entry 17 of the State list , therefore, the intervention of central government is totally unconstitutional. Riparian principle also does not find mention which provide basis for determining the ownership of river waters .
It seems the government has tried to dilute the constitutional position on the water issues by taking a compromising stand and so has not respected the written promise made with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha at the time seven days morcha on Chandigarh borders.