Chandigarh, June 7: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed Punjab’s plea seeking to recall or modify its May 6 order related to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) water dispute. The May 6 order had directed Punjab to comply with the decision taken on May 2 during a meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary.
Punjab argued that the court was misled into believing that the meeting had decided the release of an extra 4,500 cusecs of water to Haryana over eight days, when in fact, the meeting addressed only law and order issues, not water allotment.
Senior advocate Gurminder Singh appeared for Punjab, while the Government of India was represented by Additional Solicitor-General Satya Pal Jain and senior counsel Dheeraj Jain.
Punjab alleged that BBMB had concealed material facts by not informing the court of Haryana’s April 29 letter requesting the Chairman to refer the matter to the Central Government under Rule 7 of the BBMB Rules. This rule mandates that any disagreement involving policy or inter-state rights must be referred to the Centre for a binding decision. Punjab contended that the BBMB Chairman lost jurisdiction (“functus officio”) after the referral request and the matter should have been decided by the Centre.
However, the court clarified that such a referral is valid only when there is a clear dispute among member States on policy or rights. The Bench noted Haryana’s letter did not raise a dispute but simply sought implementation of a prior BBMB technical committee resolution dated April 28. Thus, the letter could not be treated as a referral to the Central Government.
The court added that BBMB was free to act as per law since the April 29 letter did not constitute a valid referral. The May 6 order had also addressed petitions challenging Punjab’s police deployment at Bhakra Nangal Dam and the release of 8,500 cusecs of water.
The Bench stressed that delays in resolving the dispute could cause “irreparable damage” to millions across Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi, justifying the prompt action taken.
Finally, the court noted that Punjab remains free to make a referral to the Central Government under Rule 7 if it chooses.
Read More: Centre, Haryana Hid Key Facts on Water Dispute: Punjab Tells HC
