Chandigarh, Oct 29 Punjab AAP leader Baltej Pannu accused the previous Congress and SAD-BJP governments on Thursday of ignoring the state’s alarming groundwater depletion and allowing the state’s canal irrigation network to deteriorate.
While successive governments ignored experts’ repeated warnings and failed to protect Punjab’s water resources, the Bhagwant Mann government prioritised canal restoration, increasing canal water utilisation from 21-22 per cent to nearly 88 per cent, he said.
AAP Punjab media in-charge Pannu said, “Experts had been warning for years that Punjab’s groundwater was depleting at an alarming rate, but the previous Congress and SAD-BJP governments paid no attention.”
He said the previous governments allowed canals, minor canals and distributaries to disappear, pushing farmers towards excessive groundwater extraction and putting the future of Punjab’s coming generations at risk.
“Those who put up huge hoardings claiming to be the protectors of Punjab’s waters were actually the ones who robbed Punjab of its water resources. Their actions exposed the difference between their public claims and their actual record on protecting the state’s interests,” he alleged.
He said when the AAP government took office in Punjab in 2022, it instructed officials to restore canal water supply on a priority basis. “Our government traced distributaries that had been buried under soil and laid approximately 14,000 kilometres of pipelines to ensure that canal water reaches farmers’ fields. This has reduced dependence on groundwater, helped farmers avoid repeatedly deepening borewells and contributed to an improvement in the water table,” Pannu said.
Restoring canal irrigation is not merely an infrastructure exercise; it is essential to conserve groundwater, protect Punjab’s agricultural economy, and secure water for future generations, he said.
Referring to the recent session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Pannu said, “Historic resolutions concerning Punjab’s river water rights were introduced on the final day of the Assembly session, but Congress deliberately remained outside instead of standing with Punjab on this crucial issue.”
Even after the session concluded, he said neither Congress nor the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) or other political parties came forward with a clear response to the resolutions.
Pannu said the BJP is keen to take away Punjab’s rights, yet it has remained silent on these resolutions. Punjab deserves answers from every political party that claims to represent its people, he said.
Explaining the demands raised through the Assembly resolutions, Pannu said the resolutions demand that Punjab receives its legitimate share of Yamuna waters.
As a riparian state, Punjab’s government must retain complete control over the management and maintenance of the Ropar, Harike and Ferozepur headworks located within its territory, he said.
(PTI News)
