The Punjab Assembly convened a special session on Monday to address renewed tensions with Haryana over water sharing, following a directive from the Centre mandating the release of an additional 4,500 cusecs of water daily to Haryana from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) reservoirs for eight days.
This order, which adds to the existing 4,000 cusecs already being sent, has triggered strong opposition from Punjab. State officials argue that there is no surplus water to spare and claim that Haryana has already received more than its allocated quota, with the ongoing flow allowed purely on humanitarian grounds.
In protest, Punjab boycotted a BBMB partner states meeting held on Saturday, citing insufficient notice and asserting it would not engage in further discussions until the Assembly session concludes. Punjab maintains that BBMB regulations require at least seven days’ notice for special meetings, a rule it says was violated in this and two previous cases.
The dispute comes just ahead of BBMB’s annual water allocation cycle, set to begin on May 21. Tensions flared after the Centre—represented by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan—backed Haryana’s demand during an April 30 BBMB meeting, where the board ordered the combined release of 8,500 cusecs to Haryana.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held an all-party meeting on Friday, after which the special session was announced. Leaders across party lines in Punjab expressed unity on the issue, though BJP representatives argued that Haryana had previously received additional water from Punjab and that the current crisis could have been avoided.
Haryana, meanwhile, held its own all-party meeting with unanimous support for its claim. Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini stated that Punjab had agreed to the additional release, prompting a sharp response from CM Mann, who called the statement “completely false and misleading.” In a strongly worded letter, Mann accused the BJP-led governments in Delhi and Haryana of using “bullying tactics” against Punjab.
Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, after a Congress legislature party meeting, vowed to protect Punjab’s water interests, while withholding details of the party’s strategy. Despite the show of unity, Punjab’s political parties have often clashed over water issues in the past.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in, slamming the AAP-led Punjab government for its handling of the crisis. “The current rulers are playing with fire by promising to release water to Haryana and Rajasthan,” he said, dismissing Mann’s recent opposition as “too little, too late.”
In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, AAP holds a dominant 93 seats, Congress 16, BJP and BSP one each, along with one independent. One seat remains vacant ahead of the upcoming Ludhiana West bypoll. Of SAD’s three MLAs, only Ganieve Kaur Majithia is currently aligned with the party.
