Punjab water issue: PM calls meeting of CMs

By Our Economy Bureau | 14 Jul 2004

New Delhi: The prime minister, Manmohan Singh yesterday said in parliament that he had invited the chief ministers of states affected for a meeting to resolve the imbroglio that rose due to Punjab''s decision to pass a legislation terminating water-sharing agreements with its neighbouring States.

Replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha over the issue which rocked the houses, Singh said he shared the members'' concerns and called for a "lasting solution" to resolve the crisis. "I have invited the chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan to find an amicable solution to the problem," Singh told the House.

Meanwhile, both Haryana and Rajasthan have announced that they would take legal recourse to the Punjab Government''s action, claiming that the decision was in contravention of the Supreme Court''s directions on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal project.

The Punjab Assembly on Monday passed a Bill terminating the Ravi and Beas river water sharing treaties with the neighbouring states. The State Government claims that the move was on the basis of a legal advice to protect the State''s interests in the light of the Supreme Court judgement on the canal.