Punjab has suffered a huge loss of Rs 32 Lakh Crore for sharing water with non-riparian states such as Rajasthan and Delhi in the past fifty years. This was stated by suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Dharamvir Gandhi through his new political front ‘Punjab Federal Manch’, as he approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday challenging certain sections of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 in the Constitution.

Addressing a Press conference on Chandigarh, Gandhi said that the Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Act were violative of Articles 162 and 246(3) of the Constitution as ‘Irrigation and Hydel Power’ are the state subjects under entry 17 of the state list. Therefore, the Parliament was not empowered to legislate on these provisions, he said.

Gandhi further said that he has sought directions for Rajasthan, Haryana and Union government to pay back to the state of Punjab the cost of water given free of cost since 1947.

“The directions to pay for the cost of electricity and cost for drilling bores incurred by Punjab and to fix royalties have been sought. He said, if any, water is sent to any state in future, the same should be payable on the principles of calculation.”

“We have demanded the setting up of an independent authority for calculating the cost of river water in terms of its monetary value, given free to non-riparian states of Haryana, Chandigarh and non-riparian and non-successor state of Punjab which are Rajasthan and Delhi, resulting in economic and social ruin of the state of Punjab and it comes to, only for fifty years, an amount of around 32 Lakh Crore,” he said. Gandhi claimed that the cost of the water worked out at Rs 11 Lakh Crore against the state of Rajasthan alone.

The counsel for Gandhi, senior advocate Rajvinder Singh Bains said that Section 14 of the Inter-state River Waters Disputes Act 1956, was unconstitutional which hit the entire scheme of providing for the competency of a state to raise disputes and their resolution through tribunals and experts.

The petitioners have also sought that the court may provide for a suitable machinary to evaluate and grant the cost of water to the state of Punjab by the recipient states such as Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh. The petitioners asserted Punjab’s total rights to all three rivers of the state to utilise and manage the head-works and other projects.

Directions have been sought to declare that provisions of Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, do not envisage grant of share in the river waters of Punjab to non-riparian states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chandigarh for the three rivers of Punjab which are Ravi, Beas and Satluj.

It has been further sought to declare that the state of Rajasthan and Delhi being non-successor states to the parent state of Punjab, has no right or interest or entitlement to the river waters of Punjab.