Haryana today contested Punjab's Riparian principle in the case of Ravi-Beas waters saying it is incorrect and sought an early hearing of the Presidential reference on validity of Punjab Termination of Agreements Act of 2004, which is pending in Supreme Court.
At the 27th meeting of Northern Zonal Council here, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged the Centre to declare Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops like maize, pulses, cotton, guar etc., in order to encourage farmers to go for diversification of crops.
He also said that Haryana is ready to resolve the issues regarding the sharing of power generated by the Anandpur Sahib Hydel Project, Mukerian Hydel Project, Thein Dam Project and UBDC Stage-II, either under the aegis of Northern Zonal Council or through mutual deliberations.
"The demand for declaring MSP for crops other than wheat, paddy and sugarcane, originates from the need to shift cultivated areas away from water-consuming crops to those like maize, pulses, cotton, guar, and also from the basic need for diversification of cultivation.
"Efficient procurement machinery for various other crops like maize, pulses, guar in the context of Haryana and several such crops in the context of other states along with a remunerative MSP and assured procurement are necessary to achieve the intended objectives," the chief minister said.
Talking of the river waters, Khattar said that the surplus Ravi-Beas waters were distributed by the Centre between different states and undivided Punjab, along with other states, was allocated surplus waters of Ravi-Beas by the government of India in addition to its normal utilisation on account of large swathes of arid land which, however, now form part of Haryana.
"The riparian principle of sharing of surplus waters of the Ravi and the Beas does not apply in this case and the contention of Punjab that these waters belong to Punjab only is not correct," a statement quoted Khattar as saying.
He said that Haryana is a water-deficit state with respect to both surface and groundwater resources. The groundwater level in the state, particularly in the fresh water zone, is depleting fast due to the inevitable exploitation which this resource faces, he added.
As against an annual demand of 36.0 Million Acre Feet (MAF), the availability of water is only 14.0 MAF. He said that while on the one hand, Haryana has to give, out of its own share of Yamuna waters, extra water to Delhi in compliance with Supreme Court orders, Punjab is on the other hand not delivering Haryana's full share of the Ravi-Beas waters.
