Chandigarh, May 6: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday reserved its order in a contentious dispute between the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and the Punjab government over the deployment of state police at the Nangal dam and alleged obstruction in the release of water to Haryana.
“We are doing this to our enemy country. Let us not do this within our states,” a visibly concerned division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel observed during the proceedings, as it questioned Punjab’s move to increase its police presence at a national asset.
The court was hearing a plea by BBMB that challenged Punjab’s decision to raise the number of police personnel at the dam site from 15 to 55, alleging interference in its operations and hindrance to the release of 8,500 cusecs of water, sanctioned to be distributed among Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan.
At the outset, senior advocate Rajesh Garg, representing BBMB, warned of an imminent crisis.
“The reservoir is going to overflow and the downstream states are going to go dry,” he told the court, suggesting the heightened police deployment pointed toward an attempt to control or block the regulated release.
The bench noted that institutions of national importance, such as the BBMB, ought ideally to be guarded by central paramilitary forces and not state police, especially during sensitive inter-state issues.
Defending the deployment, senior advocate and former Advocate-General of Punjab, Gurminder Singh, argued that law and order fall strictly under the purview of the state. “BBMB cannot dictate how police is deployed. They want illegal resolutions enforced,” Singh said.
He also invoked the present tense border situation to suggest restraint from judicial interference.
However, Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain countered that the move was not justified.
“The water is not out of Punjab’s share. For me, all states are equal. Water comes from Himachal. What if they stop it tomorrow? This is not in good spirit,” Jain told the court, asserting that BBMB’s decision to release water was legal and should not be disrupted through unilateral action.
Representing Haryana, Advocate-General Parminder Singh Chauhan alleged Punjab was resisting the water release “tooth and nail.”
He claimed Punjab had taken matters into its own hands “under the garb of protecting the dam.”
“This is not their job,” Chauhan said, pointing out that the allocation included 1,049 cusecs for Delhi, 850 cusecs for Rajasthan, and the rest for Haryana.
“Objections, if any, must be taken up through the proper Central Government channels.”
Chauhan concluded by stating that Punjab had the right to object but not to obstruct. “A decision has been made. If Punjab disagrees, it can approach the Centre, not interfere through local policing.”
After hearing the arguments at length, the High Court reserved its order, which is expected to be pronounced later in the day.
Read more: BBMB Moves HC Against Punjab Police Presence at Nangal Dam
