WATER WARS RESURFACE: PUNJAB CHALLENGES CENTRE, BBMB OVER CONTROL OF DAMS AND RIVERS

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared that the state government will soon introduce a new draft Act for the management and control of Punjab's dams; he asserted that Punjab will no longer accept the Dam Safety Act, 2021, imposed by the Centre.

- TARUNI GANDHI

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared that the state government will soon introduce a new draft Act for the management and control of Punjab's dams; he asserted that Punjab will no longer accept the Dam Safety Act, 2021, imposed by the Centre. Speaking during the ongoing special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mann disclosed that the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has now filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court—objecting to Punjab's decision to depute state police at Nangal Dam, an infrastructure entirely located in Punjab.

Mann also directly questioned Leader of Opposition Congress Leader Partap Singh Bajwa, asking why Himachal Pradesh's Congress leaders voted in favour of Haryana in BBMB, even when Punjab is the riparian state. "How can you claim to represent Punjab and stay silent when your own party votes against Punjab's rights?" Mann asked.

Before this, Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond took the floor and delivered a hard-hitting address exposing the historical and ongoing theft of Punjab's river waters, carried out through legal manipulation, central overreach, and betrayal by successive Congress governments.