Chandigarh, Jun 14 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday opposed the "unilateral decision" of the Centre to waive the conditions of seeking a no objection certificate (NOC) for drawing water by Himachal Pradesh for irrigation schemes.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister said it is unfortunate that the Union government had issued directions to the chairman of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) in this regard on May 15.

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He said that vide these directions, the government has directed the BBMB Chairman to do away with the present mechanism of NOC with the condition that the cumulative drawal by the Himachal Pradesh government, is kept below their analogous share in power, that is 7.19 per cent as decided by the Supreme Court.

Further, the chief minister said that BBMB shall only carry out a technical feasibility study for the drawal of water by Himachal Pradesh for water supply/irrigation projects if it involves engineering structures of BBMB and conveys the necessary technical requirements to Himachal Pradesh within 60 days from receipt of such request.

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According to the chief minister, this decision is completely unjustified, baseless and a grave injustice to Punjab because as per the water agreements, no water is required to be allocated to Himachal Pradesh out of the rivers Sutlej and Beas.

He said though, the Supreme Court has allowed a 7.19 per cent share to Himachal Pradesh for power and no orders have been issued by the Apex court regarding the sharing of water.

Mann said the sharing of water is an inter-state dispute and "no unilateral directions can be issued to share the waters by the states".

The chief minister highlighted that BBMB was constituted under Section 79(1) of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, as per which the mandate of the board is only for administration, maintenance and operation of the dam and reservoirs -- Nangal Hydel channel and Irrigation headworks at Ropar, Harike and Ferozepur.

He categorically said as per the Act, BBMB is not authorised to give any water out of the rivers to any state other than the partner states, adding that Himachal Pradesh is not a partner state.

Mann said the waters of rivers Sutlej, Ravi and Beas have been allocated to Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Rajasthan under separate agreements, and Himachal Pradesh cannot raise any claim on the rivers' water.

He also said the water of these rivers has been earmarked for specific areas of the partner states, and the allocated water is supplied through a specific canal system.

Water is a state subject covered under Entry 17 of State list-II of the Constitution and the determination or adjudication of rights of river waters fall in the exclusive jurisdiction of a Tribunal to be constituted by the Centre as per the provision of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, enacted under Article 262 of the Constitution, based on a complaint raised by a state government, he added.

Mann said the partner states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have been very liberal in the past to provide water out of the interstate carrier channels to Himachal Pradesh for drinking purposes.

However, the chief minister bemoaned that the Centre had by instant directions also included the irrigation schemes.

He said that in the present circumstances when the water in the rivers is declining drastically year after year and there have been pressing demands for water by all the partner states, the unilateral decision of the Centre needs to be reconsidered and withdrawn.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)