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Opinion Rajasthan ‘owes Rs 80,000 Cr’ To Punjab

kds1980

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Apr 3, 2005
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Rajasthan ‘owes Rs 80,000 cr’ to Punjab
Published on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by A Kaur

Chandigarh, Punjab: Punjab incurred an expenditure of Rs 80,000 crore while supplying one crore acre feet of free canal water to Rajasthan besides depleting its own resources continuously for 40 years now, says Pritam Singh Kumedan, a retired civil servant and expert on rivers water distribution.

Besides the huge expenditure in supplying free water to Rajasthan, he says, the state has to extract this much extra ground water for its own use, affecting the fertility of its land.

There are more than 13 lakh power and diesel-operated tube wells in Punjab that pump out about 2.50 crore acre feet of water every year. The electricity consumed by these tube wells annually is more than 1,000 crore units. The value of this electricity at Rs 2.50 per unit comes to about Rs 2,600 crore.

However, since Punjab purchases electricity from other states for Rs 7 to Rs 8 per unit, power used to energise these tube wells costs more than Rs 7,000 crore. Diesel-operated tube wells cost four to five times more.

Owing to the shortage of electricity many farmers use generators as well. Even if the cost of power were taken to be Rs 5 per unit, 1,000 crore units of electricity would cost Rs 5,000 crore.

Since Punjab is supplying one crore acre feet of canal water to Rajasthan every year, it has to use 400 crore units of electricity worth Rs 2,000 crore for extracting this much ground water.

The total amount spent by Punjab for pumping out 40 crore acre feet of water during the past 40 years would thus come to Rs 80,000 crore.

Had Punjab used its river waters, there was no need to extract this much ground water.

This annual loss of 400 crore units of electricity is all due to free canal water to Rajasthan.

Punjab would have become the top-most industrial state of the country if it had used this additional 400 crore units of electricity (free of subsidies) for its industry, says Kumedan.

He adds that a decision taken on January 29, 1955, to build the Rajasthan canal could not be treated as an “agreement” between Punjab and Rajasthan. Incidentally, the proceedings are marked “secret” and intriguingly even the present Punjab Council of Ministers, the media and even the people of Punjab were not aware of it.

Rajasthan, being a non-riparian state, has no legal right or any share of the waters of the Ravi or the Beas.

It was decided by the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal that non-riparian Rajasthan had no right even in the Narmada waters.

Even if, for the sake of argument, decisions of the 1955 meeting were admitted to be an “agreement”, it is a void agreement as Punjab, being the sole owner of the waters of the Ravi and the Beas, did not get anything in lieu of the water supplied to Rajasthan. Section 25 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, says an “agreement without consideration is void”, concludes Kumedan.

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ac_marshall

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Nov 5, 2009
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Bangalore, India
In that case, Punjab gets water from Himachal and also lets out the water to Pakistan. Then how can Punjab alone be the sole owner? Then, people of the other states can also point the expenditure close to your estimate in laying power supply lines, relay stations in transfering electricity to Punjab. The water sharing was implemented at a national level by the then central government. Water is a fundamental requirement and denying it is morally and ethically against any human religion.
 

kds1980

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Does Himachal charge Punjab for the water?

Water from Himachal flows Naturally to Punjab and not through man made canals.Riparian states have first Right over the water.Even Gujarat is not sharing water with Rajasthan

It was decided by the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal that non-riparian Rajasthan had no right even in the Narmada waters.
 

Gyani Jarnail Singh

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Riparian means states that the rivers flow through....since Rajasthan has NO CONNECTION whatsoever with the Punjab Rivers it MUST BUY the water....or else go without IT.
But in this case the GOI has robbed PETER to Pay PAUL...for 60 YEARS....
1. Punjab loses WATER.
2. PUNJAB loses LAND ( building canals)
3. Punjab loses land due to seepage..water logging acres of land
4. Punjab loses due to FLOODS/Overflows/banks bursting
5. Punjab loses on maintenance
6. Pun jab loses on drawing GROUNDWATER
Rajasthan GAINS on every front.
 

AusDesi

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Jul 18, 2009
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Dharmashtere Australiashtre
Re: Rajasthan ‘owes Rs 80,000 cr’ to Punjab

Water from Himachal flows Naturally to Punjab and not through man made canals.Riparian states have first Right over the water.Even Gujarat is not sharing water with Rajasthan

It was decided by the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal that non-riparian Rajasthan had no right even in the Narmada waters.

If you are going to start charging states for River Water then there's no such thing as riparian state. Then Water becomes a commodity.

Then Himachal could do whatever it wants with its water as it originates in its territory. Himachal could sell its water directly to Haryana and Rajasthan.

Then the same problem will arise which has arisen with Krishna and Cauvery rivers. Although looking it at it from a western perspective I agree that Punjab is being hard done by.
 

kds1980

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water is a lifeline of people especially of states from where river flows to fulfill their agricultulural needs.We all know that water shortage is severe problem of Punjab .I don't think Himachal ever complained that water is given to Punjab ignoring its needs.So Water should be given To Rajasthan only if needs of Punjab is satisfied .O/W same logic is also applicable to Narmada water
 

Gyani Jarnail Singh

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what should be done....about CHINA....ALL India's rivers begin in CHINA. So many thousands of miles of Brahmaputra flows in China..in fact its very name is different in China ??
Actually Riparian Law on Water is an INTERNATIONAL LAW..recognised all over the world.
The NILE flows through many countries..so does the Amazon....the Euphrates..the Rivers in Middle east share countries....

Rajsthan has no claim to any PUNJAB RIVER Water just as PUNJAB has no claim to BIHAREE COAL..Biharee IRON...UP's..minerals...Gujerat's salt....should Bihar give free IRON to PUNJAB ?? IT SELLS its COALa nd IRON..so why Punjab must give its Water FREE ?? Why Bhakhara Dam is on Punjabi territory..but electricity to OUTSIDE PUNJAB while Punjab has CUTS and utilises diesel to make electricity ?? to take out GROUND WATER..becasue RIVER WATER went to Rajashthan ?? Bhakhara is admin by OUTSIDERS...not PUNJABIS...

EXTRA WATER...can be given away..BUT then also is EXTRA IRON/COAL given away by Bihar ??... Truth is bitter and hard to digest...
 

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