Union Minister Preneet Kaur today urged the Punjab government not to show any laxity in fighting the case of Hansi-Bhutana canal in the Supreme Court.
She said the Supreme Court had accepted Haryana's appeal for early hearing in the case and has posted the matter for April 24.
"The responsibility lies on Punjab government to fight the case firmly in the apex court as it is their domain," the Minister of State for External Affairs and sitting Congress MP from Patiala told reporters here.
She further said, "We will not allow Haryana government for puncturing the Bhakra Main Canal to join the Hansi-Bhutana canal since matter is sub judice and it is for the court to decide."
The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted Haryana's plea for an early hearing of its application for vacating the 2007 apex court order, which restrains the state from using the 109 km Hansi-Butana canal for meeting the drinking water and irrigation needs of drought-prone areas in the south-western region of Haryana.
A Supreme Court bench had posted Haryana's application for detailed hearing on April 24.
Haryana government had spent Rs 354 crore on the construction of the intra-state canal for effective utilisation of its share of water from the Bakhra Main Line (BML).
"Haryana cannot puncture BML without the permission of Punjab and Rajasthan. But now as the case is before the Supreme Court it is the duty of SAD-BJP government to protect state's waters," she added.
When asked about Ghaggar river project, she said that works worth Rs 92.04 crore were executed till 2006 to check the fury of floods that the river used to bring every year.
"It is a pity that the Akalis, the so called exponents of the farmers, stopped the further implementation of this project, after they took the reins of power in 2007," she alleged.
"On my persistent follow up since 2006, the Central Water Commission has mapped out a new plan, known as Ghaggar-2013, to tame the river in its tributaries to mitigate the flood problem. It should have been commissioned by 2013. 90 per cent of the cost of this proposal is to be funded by NABARD, yet it is gathering dust, because the ruling SAD in the state lacks determination to implement it," She said.
Kaur, who is seeking re-election from Patiala, has been under attack by SAD-BJP candidate from Patiala Lok Sabha constituency Deepinder Singh Dhillon that she did nothing to tame Ghaggar river in last 15 years.
