The Rajasthan government has turned down Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s demand for royalty on water share under inter-state water agreements since 1920.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday afternoon, Rajasthan Water Sources Minister Suresh Rawat said that CM Mann’s demand for royalty reflects a colonial mindset.
Rawat said, “Provision for payment of water charges or royalty has never been part of any inter-state water agreement, be it the 1955, 1959 or the 1985 inter-state water agreements. None of them mentions such payments.
As far as the 1920 agreement is concerned, it dates back to the British era, when agreements were often drafted to extract money from the poor, Rawat added.
Moreover, even under that treaty, the payment was to be made to the British government and not to the state of Punjab.
Punjab Chief Minister Mann has demanded payment of water charges, or royalty, on the share of water allocated to Rajasthan.
He has sought payment with retrospective effect from 1920.