A report, by Tribune News Service correspondent, Sarbjit
Dhaliwal, (headlined, “Hansi-Butana Canal Central
Water Commission report favoured Haryana, allege Punjab &
Rajasthan,”) published last week in the Chandigarh-based
newspaper Tribune, claims that, “Punjab’s concern regarding,
the Central Water Commission (CWC) playing foul in respect
of a report on the (illegal) Hansi-Butana canal, to be
submitted to the Supreme Court, has proved correct. What has
peeved Punjab the most, claims the report, is the fact that
the Central Water Commission (CWC) is not giving an
impartial and reasoned report on the Hansi-Butana canal
issue. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has not responded
seriously to major issues raised by Punjab on flooding and
water-logging and has played down technical infirmities
stating that Haryana will prepare a revised project report
to overcome these.” (>
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080507/punjab1.htm
<)
The Central Water Commission (CWC)
is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of
Water Resources and is presently functioning in an attached
office of the Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi. The
Central Water Commission (Chairman B. S. Ahuja, - a Sikh -
315, Sewa Bhavan (S), RK Puram, New Delhi 110 606; Tel.
02610 8855: Chief Engineer Water Planning & Projects Wing,
S. M. Sood, Tel. 02619 5519) is entrusted with the general
responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering
in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes
for control, conservation and utilization of water resources
throughout the country, for purpose of Flood Control,
Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water
Power Development. It also undertakes the investigations,
construction and execution of any such schemes as required.
How stupid can one get? The
Punjab government attorneys are talking about flooding and
water logging by the illegal Hansi-Butana link canal! The
dispute here is clear cut. It is whether non-riparian state
of Haryana has arbitrarily, without having met with the
requisite conditions under the law (and Bhakra Agreement of
1959), brazenly dug up the illegal, 109 Kilometers long
Hansi-Butana Link canal, costing 354 crores, in its
territory, without asking Punjab and Rajasthan (mandatory)
or the Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi – also
mandatory. The criminal intention behind this illegal action
by the government of Haryana is, to siphon extra water from
the Bhakra mainline canal, near Samana, in collaboration
with the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB) whose engineers
control how much water goes into that canal. Quite a few of
the BBMB engineers, according to our sources, have already
been bribed (and promised a retainer stipend) by Haryana
officials as these engineers control the flow of water in
the Bhakra Mainline canal (serving Punjab, Rajasthan and
Haryana) which Haryana plans to illegally tap inside it’s
territory. During the hearing of the Hansi-Butana dispute,
at the Supreme Court today, the Counsel for Haryana has
pulled a new ‘rabbit out of the hat’. He has suggested to
Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan that initially Haryana wants
only 500 cusecs of water for drinking in the new 2, 086
cusec capacity illegal Hansi-Butana canal which it will
siphon without puncturing the banks of the Bhakra Main Line
canal. According to media reports the Supreme Court Chief
Justice has reacted favorably to this new proposal. The new
move came as a surprise for the not so bright Punjab
Counsel. (>
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080515/haryana.htm#1
<) More on this later.
The above mentioned Tribune
report, goes on to state that, “Punjab and Rajasthan had
earlier raised questions on the handling of the Hansi-Butana
issue by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and its alleged
bias in favor of Haryana in this regard, and were surprised
to know that the Central Water Commission had supported the
cause of Haryana on this canal issue.” The Tribune report
quotes a senior functionary of the Punjab government as
saying that, “We have not been expecting that the Central
Water Commission (CWC) would go to such an extent to support
Haryana.” The Senior functionary from Punjab further said
that, the CWC had toned down the objections raised by Punjab
and Rajasthan on the (illegal) linking of Hansi-Butana canal
to the Bhakra canal, near Samana, and had justified the
Haryana government’s stand on the new link canal. The
Central Water Commission has suggested that the objections,
raised by Punjab and Rajasthan, ‘may not be serious, may not
be significant’ etc. The report claims that Punjab and
Rajasthan, which are jointly opposing Haryana on the
Hansi-Butana canal issue, feel relieved that the Supreme
Court has done justice to both states by taking notice of
the main objections raised by them before the court.
Rajasthan has informed the Supreme Court that it, like
Punjab, will not give clearance to the Bhakra-Beas
Management Board (BBMB) to allow Haryana to link the
Hansi-Butana canal to the Bhakra canal near Samana.
The Tribune report further
states, quoting a senior Punjab politician that, “Punjab
feels that the Central Water Commission, a national
institution, has impaired its credibility as a neutral body.
The CWC (Central Water Commission) should have realized that
any messing around with the Bhakra Mainline canal system, at
any point of time, without consensus among the partner
states can lead to dangerous consequences. Once the
tinkering with the system is allowed, there will be no end
to it.” The Tribune reveals that Punjab had also lodged a
protest to the Central Water Commission (CWC) against not
supplying to Punjab a report prepared on the Hansi-Butana
canal project by Central Water Commission chief engineer A.K.
Bajaj, after site visit and discussing all issues with
engineers of Punjab and Haryana. “What has further made
Punjab suspicious on the fairness of the CWC is the transfer
of engineer A.K. Bajaj from its Central Water Commission
regional office in Chandigarh to elsewhere” claims the above
Tribune report.
Instead of feeling relieved
and jumping to the fond conclusion (reported in the above
Tribune report) that ‘the Indian Supreme Court has done
justice’ Punjab should realize that the Central Water
Commission (CWC) has prepared a biased (and totally
anti-Punjab, pro-Haryana) technical report on the illegal
Hansi-Butana canal controversy, after a ‘wink and a nod’
from the Indian Supreme Court. To understand the situation
the Punjab Chief minister Badal (& Son), ought to read our
column, (Khalistan Calling) dated January 02, 2008,
headlined, “Indian Supreme Court plans to ambush Punjab
after the New Year by deciding water disputes in Haryana’s
favor.-- Punjabis MUST remember the SYL saga and organize
‘Jathas’ forthwith to help replenish the falling underground
water table by siphoning water from various link canals
crisscrossing Punjab.” >
http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2008/january02.aspx
<
The above mentioned January 2,
2008, Khalistan Calling, in the introductory paragraph,
exposed the Central Water Commission, four months ago, and
alerted the Punjab government in the following words:- “Our
reliable sources in the Indian Ministry of Water Resources
have reported that the Central Water Commission (CWC) has
prepared a biased (and totally anti-Punjab, pro-Haryana)
technical report on the illegal Hansi-Butana canal
controversy for submission to the Indian Supreme Court after
the New Year.” One can hardly compliment the inept Badal &
Son government of Indian occupied Punjab, for taking four
and half months (exactly 125 days), to realize that the
Central Water Commission (CWC) has prepared a biased (and
totally anti-Punjab, pro Haryana) technical report on the
illegal Hansi-Butana canal controversy for submission to the
Indian Supreme Court. Something predicted in this column way
back, on January 2, 2008.
The not-very-competent Punjab
government ought to be ready for another shock when BJP-ruled
Rajasthan, which has currently joined Punjab in opposing
Haryana on the Hansi-Butana canal issue, stabs Punjab in the
back, by withdrawing its objections against Haryana ‘at the
right moment’. The right moment will come when the Supreme
Court decides to start the hearing on this case along with
the case in which the Supreme Court had stayed the Rajasthan
high court order against Punjab. In that court order the
Rajasthan High Court had directed Punjab, in 2005, to hand
over the management of the regulatory Ropar, Harike and
Ferozepore headworks (located inside Punjab) to the
Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB). The ambush of
Sikh-majority Occupied Punjab – the only riparian state in
these disputes – will be complete when the prejudiced
anti-Sikh Supreme Court pulls out the third case against
Punjab, the currently ‘pigeon-holed’ Presidential reference
on the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, (passed
unanimously by the Punjab State assembly on July 12, 2004)
which has been pending since July 22, 2004. (See Khalistan
Calling dated October 4, 2004 by clicking at the following
links: >
http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2004/august04.aspx
< and >
http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2004/july14.aspx
<
One can only wish the best of
luck to the Badal (& Son) government at the Indian Supreme
Court, in the year 2008, if it does not wake up from its
deep slumber. The cards at that ‘Kangaroo’ apex court seem
to be stacked against the Punjab. From the look of things
Punjab might lose ALL its legal cases, being heard at
the Supreme Court, unless the people of Sikh-majority Punjab
‘stand up’in anger, with the slogan, ‘Remember the SYL
canal’ on their lips (and in their hearts) and organize
themselves into Jathas ready for active civil disobedience
to protect Punjab’s water resource. Then, and only then,
will Punjab stand a chance of a fair hearing in the bigoted
Supreme Court of the world’s largest demoNcracy - INDIA.
Punjabis in general, and Chief
minister Parkash Singh Badal & Son in particular, ought to
take a cue from Haryana’s hush hush construction of the
illegal Hansi-Butana link canal inside it’s territory.
Punjab should take action, a la Haryana, and start
replenishing it’s underground water with water siphoned from
canals flowing inside Punjab territory - the Ravi Beas link
canal comes to mind. The chances are that this kind of
provocative and robust action might improve the odds at the
Supreme Court, of justice prevailing there for Punjab.
The muscular and hardy people
of Punjab therefore, ought to steel themselves by
remembering the robust methods which were used by Punjabi
activists so successfully, some decades ago, to stop the
defunct Sutlej Yumna Link (SYL) canal construction in its
tracks. All Punjabis should take a vow to unite and organize
themselves, right away, and ‘zero-in’ on canals, flowing
inside Punjab territory, which carry Punjab river water,
free of charge, to ungrateful, non-riparian states like
Haryana and Rajasthan. The Bhakra Mainline canal, which
runs through Punjab territory, is another water way which
comes to mind. These canals are a ready and handy source of
fresh water which can be used to replenish and reduce the
dangerous water pollution and falling underground water
levels in the Sikh Homeland, caused by the transfer (free of
charge) of Punjab’s river water to non-riparian states of
Haryana and Rajasthan for the past so many years. If Haryana
can do it by arbitrarily building an illegal Hansi-Butana
canal in it’s territory so too can Punjab!
