Five times Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said here today that the Riparian Principle was "totally non-negotiable" and that any solution outside its purview would never be acceptable to Punjabis or law abiding believers in the Constitutional framework of the country.In a statement here, the former CM said the SC must first of all determine which state had the right on the waters of any river. “The SC must clarify
if non-riparian states can also have a claim on the waters of rivers that do not even touch its boundaries. Allotting water to non-riparian states would lead to a situation of utter constitutional anarchy on the issue of natural resources”, he added. Mr Badal said any decision on the waters of Punjab's rivers must flow from this un-alterable and sacred constitutional position. He said in the light of this fact no negotiations could happen contrary to the Riparian Principal which was the basis for river water distribution between different States. Mr Badal also made it clear that Punjab could not welcome any decision that puts a question mark on the inalienable right of the Punjbais on their only major natural resource. He said Punjab was already in the throes of an ominous water crisis as a result of the utter “depredations and exploitation of its constitutionally tenable position on the waters of its rivers”. He said that the Riparian Principle which categorically guaranteed and safeguarded the right of the riparian states on the waters of the rivers flowing through it should be respected by everyone.