CHANDIGARH: Amid an escalating row with Punjab over the sharing of water, the Haryana government on Friday announced its decision to approach the Supreme Court over the matter.
Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry said that the process to move the Supreme Court has already been initiated. "If this issue is not resolved, we will approach the Supreme Court. We have complete records and data on Haryana’s water receipt, and all relevant facts will be presented before the court."
"It is unprecedented that Punjab is withholding the legitimate share of water of Haryana from the Bhakra Dam. This water belongs and is controlled by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), not Punjab, which allocates water based on the needs of the concerned partner states. This process has been followed for years,” she said.
Choudhry asked why Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had not raised this issue in previous years when drinking water was allocated to Haryana as per the allocations. "The Punjab Chief Minister’s claim that Haryana has utilized 103 percent of its allocated water is entirely false. Such misinformation appears to be politically driven, possibly due to their recent electoral defeat in Delhi," she said.
She said that during the shutdown of the Bhakra canal system, Haryana had requested the release of 4000 cusecs of water to meet its drinking water needs and to ensure equitable distribution to partner states, including Delhi and Rajasthan, as no water was being received from the Yamuna through the Western Jamuna Canal (WJC). However, Punjab released only 3000 cusecs, which included Delhi’s share of 1049 cusecs. Given the critical drinking water situation, Haryana reiterated its demand for 4000 cusecs.
Subsequently, in the Technical Committee Meeting (TCM) held on April 23, it was agreed that 8500 cusecs of water would be allocated to Haryana from April 24 to May 1 under the Haryana Contact Point for distribution to partner states. Despite the consensus, Punjab did not issue the necessary demand letter to the BBMB, resulting in water shortages in Haryana.
Chaudhary further stated that Punjab’s assertion that Haryana exhausted its water quota in March 2025 is factually incorrect. "Punjab is selectively calculating figures based only on the deficit period. When the full water accounting for 2024 is considered, it clearly shows that Punjab received 9.30 per cent more than its allocated share, while Haryana received 0.198 per cent less. Over the last 20 years, Punjab has received 22.44 per cent more than its share, while Haryana received just 7.67 per cent more," she added.
Meanwhile, strongly condemning Punjab leaders for politicizing the water issue, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini advised them not to indulge in petty politics. "Punjab is the land of the Gurus, and we bow to them. Work for the welfare of Punjab’s people. Haryana was once a part of Punjab and emerged from there. Such low-level politics is not good for anyone," said Saini.
He said this while interacting with media persons in Panchkula. Saini said, "I assure that if the people of Punjab ever need drinking water, we will install tubewells, extract water from our groundwater, and provide it to them. I guarantee that no person in Punjab will remain thirsty."
He said Haryana is only asking for the water it used to receive earlier, not more than that. "Water is a natural resource. If politics continues like this, the water will go waste and flow into Pakistan, which has been shedding the blood of our unarmed citizens," said Saini.
"We are seeking the same SYL water as per the agreement. The Supreme Court has ruled that this is our right," he said.
In a letter to Saini earlier this week, Mann said that Punjab does not have a single drop of water to share with any other state.
Sources said that CM Saini has called an all-party meeting on the issue on Saturday.