Bathinda: Punjab water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Saturday said Haryana was "spreading misconceptions" about the water-sharing issue.
Speaking to the mediapersons on the sidelines of a function at Muktsar, Goyal said Punjab had not withheld anyone's rightful share and would neither surrender its own rights nor bow to pressure from the Centre or Haryana.
He said Punjab's interests come first and only Punjab had rights over its waters.
The minister further said the water distribution from dams had been done as per the stored volume for around 44 years. Haryana was allocated 2.987 MAF of water this year and has already utilised its allocated share. Haryana exceeded its target by using a total of 104% of its water allocation, claimed the minister, adding that the Punjab govt had been writing to Haryana since January about this matter and also kept the Union govt in the know-how.
Goyal revealed that a letter was also written on March 17, warning Haryana that it was not using its share of water judiciously, which could lead to difficulties in the coming days. However, instead of improving its water management, Haryana consumed all its water allocation by March itself.
Goyal said on March 31, Haryana requested drinking water, indicating that it needed 1,500 cusecs of water for its population of 2.8 crore, at a standard rate of 135 litres per person per day. It also requested 1,149 cusecs for Delhi and cited additional needs for industry and even animals,...
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