The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday conducted a significant hearing on the ongoing Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) water dispute involving the Punjab and Haryana governments, and issued notices to all parties, scheduling the next hearing for May 6 at 3 PM.
At the center of the legal confrontation is the BBMB’s petition challenging the deployment of Punjab Police personnel at the Nangal Dam premises, which the board argues is obstructing its operations.
“We do not want the security of the Punjab Police. If needed, we will request it from the Central Government, not from Punjab,” said BBMB’s counsel, Advocate Rajesh Garg, during the proceedings.
The Punjab Government, however, defended the move, citing rising tensions between India and Pakistan as a justification for the precautionary deployment of state police at the dam site.
The BBMB, in contrast, alleges that the Punjab Police has effectively “surrounded” the dam, making it impossible to maintain normal water supply operations.
Political Firestorm in Punjab Assembly
Simultaneously, the issue took a political turn in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, where Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal introduced a resolution fiercely opposing BBMB’s decision to release an additional 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana.
“Not a single drop of extra water will be spared,” Goyal declared, accusing BBMB of becoming a “puppet of the BJP” and conspiring to undermine Punjab’s constitutional water rights.
He further called the April 30 late-night BBMB meeting that approved the water release to Haryana “illegal”, demanding the abolition of the 1981 water-sharing agreement, which he claimed was outdated due to declining water levels.
Goyal also lashed out at the Dam Safety Act, 2021, arguing it infringes upon state control of river resources and poses a serious threat to Punjab’s sovereignty over its waters.
“This is a conspiracy involving the Central Government, Haryana, and BBMB to snatch Punjab’s rights,” he alleged.
The High Court has ordered all parties, including the BBMB, Punjab, and Haryana, to submit detailed responses in the next hearing, which is expected to have serious implications for inter-state water politics and federal governance in India.