Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister, Mrs. Shruti Chaudhary, has strongly refuted the Punjab Chief Minister's recent statements regarding water distribution, calling them "completely baseless and politically motivated." She said that the Bhakra-Beas waters belong to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), not to Punjab.
Speaking to the media at her camp office on Friday, Mrs. Chaudhary criticized the Punjab government for presenting incorrect data and misleading the public. “The Punjab Chief Minister’s claim that Haryana has utilized 103 percent of its allocated water is entirely false. Such misinformation appears to be politically driven, possibly due to their recent electoral defeat in Delhi,” she said.
She explained that during the shutdown of the Bhakra canal system, Haryana had requested the release of 4000 cusecs of water to meet its drinking water needs and to ensure equitable distribution to partner states, including Delhi and Rajasthan, as no water was being received from the Yamuna through the Western Jamuna Canal (WJC). However, Punjab released only 3000 cusecs, which included Delhi’s 1049 cusecs share. Given the critical drinking water situation, Haryana reiterated its demand for 4000 cusecs.
Subsequently, in the Technical Committee Meeting (TCM) held on April 23, it was agreed that 8500 cusecs of water would be allocated to Haryana from April 24 to May 1 under the Haryana Contact Point for distribution to partner states. Despite the consensus, Punjab did not issue the necessary demand letter to BBMB, resulting in water shortages in Haryana.
Figures Shared by Punjab CM Are Misleading
Minister Chaudhary further stated that Punjab’s assertion that Haryana exhausted its water quota in March 2025 is factually incorrect. “Punjab is selectively calculating figures based only on the deficit period. When the full water accounting for 2024 is considered, it clearly shows that Punjab received 9.30% more than its allocated share, while Haryana received 0.198% less. Over the last 20 years, Punjab has received 22.44% more than its share, while Haryana received just 7.67% more,” she added.
If the matter is not resolved, the government will go to the Supreme Court
Mrs. Chaudhary said that the Haryana government is fully committed to protecting the state’s legitimate share of water. “If this issue is not resolved, we will approach the Supreme Court. We have complete records and data on Haryana’s water receipt, and all relevant facts will be presented before the court,” she said.