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Ask SC to settle Riparian issue first, SAD tells Amarinder Govt. at All Party Meet

Chandigarh, January 23, 2020 (Yes Punjab News)

The Shiromani Akali Dal today reiterated its demand that nothing short of the Riparian Principle would be acceptable as the basis for a solution to the issue of waters of all three Punjab Rivers, the Ravi, the Satluj and the Beas. The party also demanded the deletion of the Clause 5 of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004 as according to the party, it violates the Riparian Principle.

Addressing media persons after the All Party Meeting convened by the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the SAD senior leader Prof re Singh Chandumajra said, “ SAD has made supreme sacrifices and launched major Morchas to secure Punjab’s right on the waters of its rivers on the basis of the Riparian Principle under which non-Riparian State like Rajasthan and Haryana had no right on even a single drop from the waters from the Punjab Rivers.

It is unfortunate that in the past, some parties, notably the Congress opposed the SAD on the issue. But we feel vindicated that today finally, all political parties have accepted the correctness and constitutional and legal soundness of the Akali demand. “

The SAD delegation comprised senior Senior Vice President, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra and Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal.

The SAD senior Vice President expressed satisfaction over “the SAD’s success in getting the CM to agree to convene a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to state that no exception would be made to the Riparian Principle in the final settlement of the River Waters dispute and to consider deletion of Clause 5 from the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act. .”

“We wanted the All Party meet to reject the Clause 5 of the Punjab Termination of Agreements of Act today itself as it constitutes an exception in so far as it violates the Riparian Principle and should therefore be deleted in the Special Session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly to be called for the purpose.

Although the final Resolution of the All Party Meet did not include our demand for deletion of that Clause, but we were able to get the other parties to agree to consider it during the special session of the PVS. We will insist on its deletion in the special session.“

Prof Chandumajra however regretted that the Aam Aadmi Party did not support the SAD demand for the deletion of this clause. “They remained largely quiet on the issue in the meeting.”

Prof Chandumajra urged the Chief Minister to demand royalty for the waters already given from Punjab’s rivers to Haryana and Rajasthan . “They have been using our waters against all constitutional and legal norms, precedents and principles. There are strong precedents supporting Punjab’s demand for royalty from Rajasthan and Haryana .”

Prof Chandumajra said his party presented its case at the All Party Meeting through a Resolution . He said that the party feels vindicated that for the first time, the SAD has succeeded in getting the Congress party and its government to commit to the Riparian Principle as totally un-negotiable.

Prof Chandumajra said that the SAD would have liked the All Party Resolution to be more comprehensive and more categorical and “the party will continue to press the Congress government to stick to the inviolability of the Riparian Principle.”

The Akali leader also said that the Resolution submitted by his party “asks the Punjab government to vigorously pursue the suit filed by the former Chief Minister Sardar Parkash Singh Badal in the Supreme Court on the Rivers waters issue.

The suit asks the Apex court to first settle the question of the constitutional right of any state on the river waters on the basis of the Riparian Principle before proceeding with the distribution. If no other state has any right on Punjab’ rivers, how can the question of distribution of river waters e even considered? .

He pointed out that the suit filed by Mr Badal as Punjab CM challenges the constitutionality of the clause in the Punjab Reorganization Act 1966 in so far as it relates to the river waters issue. T

he Act unconstitutionally empowers the centre to distribute river waters between Punjab and it non-Riparian neighboring states whereas as per the constitution only a tribunal can determine that question and that too only between Riparian Sates.

As neither Haryana nor Rajasthan, being non-riparian , have any locus standi on the Punjab’s river-waters , they have no right on even a single drop of water from these rivers, said Pro Chandumajra.

The Akali leader said that the SAD BJP government headed by Sardar Parkash Singh Badal had effectively closed the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal Issue by returning to the farmers the land acquired earlier by the Punjab government for the said canal.

Further, the Badal government had returned these lands free of cost to the original owners. The SYL issue is therefore dead, both from the legal and the practical angles, he said.

The Akali leader said that forcing Punjab to part with its river waters in violation of the Riparian Principle would flout all national and international legal and constitutional norms, principles and precedents.

“That can be fraught with serious consequences in terms of law and order as the river waters are n issue of life and death for Punjabis. The SC must first decide who has a right over these river waters,” says the Akali Resolution at the All Party Meet.

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