Delhi Minister Alleges Punjab Deliberately Triggering Water Crisis Amid Inter-State Tensions
Amid escalating tensions over water sharing in northern India, Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma on Thursday accused the AAP-led Punjab government of deliberately withholding water from Delhi and Haryana, calling it an act of “revenge politics.”
Verma, taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), alleged that Punjab, upset by political setbacks in the national capital, is now “punishing” Delhi residents by engineering an artificial water shortage.
“The Punjab government has resorted to dirty politics by stopping the water supply to Haryana and Delhi. After losing in Delhi, they now want to create a water crisis here,” Verma wrote.
He further asserted that the Delhi government is working tirelessly to ensure clean water reaches every household, but accused the Aam Aadmi Party of compromising those efforts through political gamesmanship.
“We are working day and night to provide clean water to every household in Delhi, and now the Punjab government wants to take revenge on the people of Delhi. Stop this dirty politics, or else you’ll be thrown out of Punjab too,” he warned.
This political flashpoint comes amid a broader water-sharing dispute between Punjab and Haryana, which intensified after Punjab cut Haryana’s water supply from the Bhakra Canal, reducing the flow from 9,500 cusecs to just 4,000 cusecs. The decision drew strong criticism from the BJP-led Haryana government, which accused Punjab of reneging on its commitments.
In response, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused the BJP of manipulating institutions and pressuring Punjab to release more water than it could afford, calling it a “dirty game” driven by electoral motives. Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini, meanwhile, hit back, accusing Mann of backtracking on the April 23 agreement forged by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), allegedly to score political points in Punjab.
Amid these accusations, the BBMB decided to release 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana from the Bhakra Dam, with immediate effect. The decision came after a prolonged meeting of the board’s technical panel, chaired by BBMB Chairman Manoj Tripathi.
Though Punjab strongly opposed the move, citing critically low reservoir levels, it was reportedly overruled as three BJP-ruled stakeholder states — Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi — united in support of Haryana’s demand. Himachal Pradesh, ruled by the Congress, remained neutral during the meeting.
The political fallout from the BBMB decision and subsequent actions by state governments has now spilled over into Delhi, raising concerns of a potential water crisis during peak summer.
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