CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government has claimed unpaid water usage dues worth Rs 1.44 lakh crore from Rajasthan for supplying water through the Gang Canal via the Ferozepur Feeder for decades of unpaid water usage.
The move makes it clear that Rajasthan must either release Punjab’s rightful dues or stop drawing water, while also calling for a review of the historic 1920 agreement governing this arrangement.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that Rajasthan had not paid water usage charges since 1960.
He stated that, as per an agreement signed in the 1920s between the state of Bikaner, the erstwhile Punjab, and the British, Rajasthan had agreed to pay for water on a per-acre basis.
“Payments were made till 1960, but after the Indus Water Treaty, Rajasthan stopped paying despite continuously drawing 18,000 cusecs of water,” Mann highlighted.
"Even today, Rajasthan continues to draw water under the 1920 agreement, but when it comes to paying dues, it takes shelter under the 1960 arrangement. The governments at that time, while entering into the new arrangement in 1960, did not mention payment, but they also never cancelled the 1920 agreement. The agreement clearly mandated a review every 25 years, but previous governments never raised the issue or pursued Punjab’s rightful claim,” Mann said.
"We have raised the issue with both the Union Government and the Rajasthan Government. The Punjab government has also written a letter to the Rajasthan Government seeking a meeting to discuss the issue,” he said.
Mann asserted that Punjab will pursue the matter firmly, stating, "Our government seeks a review of the 1920 agreement so that Punjab can recover its rightful dues. We will raise the issue strongly at all appropriate forums and ensure that Punjab gets what is rightfully its own. We will leave no stone unturned to recover the money.”