Dam Safety Act attack on Punjab’s rights, must be annulled: Resolution

The resolution, moved by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government during a special session of the assembly, on Monday sought immediate annulment of Dam Safety Act-2021, calling it a direct attack on Punjab’s rights.

Punjab water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, who moved the resolution, said: “The BJP has been trying to take away the rights of Punjab through its governments in Haryana and at the Centre, and the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).”

“This law fully empowers the central government to directly control the rivers and dams of the states, even if the dam is entirely within the state’s borders. This is against India’s federal structure and undermines the sovereign right of states such as Punjab over their water. Therefore, this House demands from the central government that the Act be repealed immediately and Government of Punjab rejects it completely,” Goyal said while reading out the resolution.

Mann, while speaking in the House, also outrightly rejected the Dam Safety Act. “Punjab can protect its dams on its own. It doesn’t need anyone else,” he said.

The resolution also sought reorganisation of the BBMB. “At present, the BBMB has become a mere puppet of the BJP government at the Centre. In the meetings of the BBMB, Punjab is neither being heard nor are the rights of Punjabis being taken care of. So, the BBMB should be reorganised to protect the rights of Punjab,” it said.

The row over water sharing erupted after AAP-ruled Punjab refused to release more water to BJP-ruled Haryana, claiming the latter has “already used 103% of its allocated share of water by March”.

In 2023, following the passage of the Dam Safety Act, BBMB had moved a proposal for deployment of four companies, each led by a commandant-rank officer with total 435 personnel, at Bhakra Dam, Nangal Dam and other key regulators and water channels (canals). At present, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) only guards the BBMB’s Beas Sutlej Link (BSL) project in Sundernagar that falls in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.

The Punjab government, however, rejected the proposal citing heavy cost for a cash-strapped state. “We have been objecting to the deployment of the central security forces at dam installations as it involves cost that is four times more than deploying state police,” said a senior official in the Punjab irrigation department. The state police continue to guard the installations that fall under its jurisdiction. It includes power houses of Bhakra Dam built over river Sutlej and downstream Nangal Dam

BBMB, on its part, said: “We are in the process of bringing central forces to guard the dam and other installations related with its system.”

After Bhakra, the BBMB would begin process for deployment of central forces at Pong Dam which is built over Beas, said a BBMB official, pleading anonymity.