CHANDIGARH, May 19 — The Technical Committee of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has finalized water allocations from the Nangal Dam to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan in line with their stated demands.
As per the decision taken during the committee’s meeting on May 15, Punjab has been allotted 17,000 cusecs, Rajasthan 12,400 cusecs, and Haryana 10,300 cusecs of water. However, the allocation to Haryana comes with a caveat. According to the minutes of the meeting, Haryana’s share will be supplied for 10 days starting May 21, depending on the “safe carrying capacity” of the Bhakra Main Line (BML) canal—responsible for carrying water to both Punjab and Haryana.
Punjab has repeatedly claimed that the BML canal is in need of repairs and cannot function at its full design capacity. Although designed to carry 12,500 cusecs, its current safe limit is only 11,200 cusecs. With Punjab drawing 3,000 cusecs from the same canal, only 8,200 cusecs can flow into Haryana—2,100 cusecs short of its allocation.
Punjab raised objections to Haryana’s increased share, asserting that the neighbouring state already uses nearly 70 per cent of the water flowing through the canal.
To address recurring disputes and technical discrepancies, the committee agreed to form a joint panel comprising representatives from partner states, the Central Water Commission, and BBMB. This panel will examine dam operations and water accounting based on actual losses and gains instead of conventional estimates.
Punjab also urged that repair work on the third tunnel of the Pong Dam be deferred, citing rising irrigation needs for paddy cultivation in the coming months. Rajasthan supported this request. Consequently, the BBMB has postponed the tunnel maintenance, and 4,000 cusecs will be released from Pong Dam starting May 21.
Read More: ‘Robbing Punjab’s Water’: CM Mann at Nangal Amid Dispute
