Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann called the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) “useless” in the state Assembly on Monday and said Punjab would no longer accept its decisions about water sharing from the Sutlej and Beas rivers.
This statement came after Cabinet Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal introduced a resolution against BBMB’s decision to allocate more water from Bhakra Dam to Haryana.
Mann said the Sutlej and Beas rivers flow through Punjab, making them the state’s rightful property. He argued that Haryana and Rajasthan have no direct connection to these rivers, yet their water needs are being unfairly met by Punjab.
The Chief Minister accused the Centre’s BJP government of using the BBMB for political reasons, saying that meetings were held at odd hours without consulting Punjab. He called the BBMB a “white elephant” and demanded it be restructured.
Mann also said that Punjab’s canal system had greatly improved under his government, increasing irrigation from 22% in 2021 to nearly 60% now. He stressed that Punjab no longer had extra water to share.
He added that while Punjab had earlier given water to Haryana on humanitarian grounds, the new demand of 8,500 cusecs could not be met. “Punjab will take all legal and constitutional steps to protect its rightful share,” he said.
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