SAD promises to terminate all river water-sharing pacts

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced that if his party comes to power in Punjab in 2027, it will terminate all river water-sharing agreements with any state.

“The Shiromani Akali Dal, on coming to power in 2027, will terminate all water sharing agreements of Punjab signed by any government at any point of time, with any state,” Badal said on Friday.

He said the neighbouring states, especially Rajasthan, has no right on Punjab waters, “but it is unfortunate that it is unduly getting nearly half of our total water”.

“Now when Punjab is suffering from severe floods, caused due to heavy rains in Himachal, none of these neighbouring states has come forward to receive the extra water to rescue our human lives, land and livestock. We will set things right, it’s my commitment to the Punjabis,” he told reporters during a party event in Jalandhar.

He said Punjab has an inalienable right over the river waters flowing across it and added the Riparian Principle also makes this quite clear.

Earlier in 2004 when the government led by Amarinder Singh, who was then in the Congress, was in power, the state Assembly in July 2004 had enacted the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, annulling all inter-state agreements signed by Punjab relating to sharing of Ravi and Beas waters.

However, a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, while answering the Presidential Reference on November 11, 2016, had held that the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004 was unconstitutional.

With inputs from News18

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