CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the Kishau Multipurpose Project, objecting to the state’s exclusion from the agreement signed by six Yamuna basin states and reiterating its claim to a share of the river’s waters.
According to sources in the Punjab Water Resources Department, the draft petition has been prepared and the state’s Advocate General’s office has been asked to examine it. The draft has also reportedly been vetted by a senior advocate who previously served as Punjab’s Advocate General.
Why Is Punjab Opposing The Kishau Project?
The dispute comes days after Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi signed an agreement on September 15 to take forward the long-pending Kishau Multipurpose Project on the Tons river, a major tributary of the Yamuna.
The project involves a proposed dam on the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border and is intended to provide water for irrigation, drinking and industrial requirements while also generating hydropower.
The Centre has described the agreement as a major step towards improving water availability in the Yamuna basin.
Punjab, however, argues that the project cannot be finalised solely on the basis of the existing Yamuna water-sharing framework because the state was not a party to the 1994 Yamuna water-sharing agreement.
Punjab’s Claim Over Yamuna Water
Punjab’s Water Resources Department has argued that Punjab’s relationship with the Yamuna predates the state’s reorganisation in 1966.
According to an official cited by The Tribune, Punjab has been seeking inclusion in discussions on Yamuna water allocation since 1992. The state is also expected to rely on a March 12, 1954 agreement between the erstwhile Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, which Punjab claims entitled it to two-thirds of the Yamuna waters.
Punjab’s position is that the reorganisation of the state did not automatically extinguish its claimed entitlement to Yamuna waters.
The state has also drawn a comparison with the Ravi-Beas water arrangements, arguing that if successor states can receive waters from rivers associated with undivided Punjab, Punjab should similarly be considered in the context of the Yamuna.
What Does The 1994 Yamuna Agreement Say?
The May 12, 1994 Yamuna water-sharing agreement was signed by the then participating basin states and Delhi. Punjab was not among the parties to that arrangement. The agreement established an interim allocation of the utilisable flow of the Yamuna among the participating states.
Punjab has argued that the arrangement should not be treated as a final settlement of its own claim because the state was excluded from the agreement.
The state’s latest move also follows an earlier complaint submitted to the Centre under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, seeking the constitution of a tribunal to adjudicate its claim over Yamuna waters, according to The Tribune.
Six States Sign Kishau Project Agreement
The Kishau agreement was signed on September 15 by Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.
According to the Centre, the project will have a storage capacity of 1,562 million cubic metres, with the proposed dam on the Tons river. The project is also expected to irrigate around 97,000 hectares and generate hydropower.
The Centre has said around 90 per cent of the water-component cost will be provided as central assistance, with the remaining share borne by the participating states.
Punjab’s Legal Challenge
Punjab’s proposed Supreme Court petition is expected to challenge the process through which the Kishau project agreement was taken forward without the state being included.
At the centre of the dispute is Punjab’s contention that its claimed entitlement to Yamuna waters must be considered before the project and its associated water allocations are finalised.
The precise legal grounds and reliefs sought by Punjab will become clearer once the petition is formally filed before the Supreme Court.
