Jaipur: Punjab has renewed its demand for Rs 1.44 lakh crore in water royalty from Rajasthan.Punjab assembly passed a resolution Tuesday seeking payment for river water supplied to the state months after Rajasthan rejected the claim.The resolution was passed on the concluding day of the Punjab assembly session. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said his govt would pursue the claim through legal and other forums, questioning Rajasthan’s continued use of water supplied from Punjab without payment.A Rajasthan govt official said the state had rejected the demand when Punjab raised it in March this year. “The arrangement dating back to the pre-Independence period required payment to the British govt, not to the then Punjab province. An agreement signed in the 1920s between the princely state of Bikaner, the erstwhile Punjab and the British govt provided for water payments on a per-acre basis, but did not include any provision for royalty.”The official said, “The 1920 agreement provided for water to be allocated to irrigate around five lakh acres of land in the erstwhile Bikaner state. The agreement was signed between the British government, the princely state of Bahawalpur and the Bikaner state.”The historical agreement is being cited as an important basis for Rajasthan’s position in the dispute. Punjab, meanwhile, is raising the issue of water rights and payment for supplies to other states. The terms of the earlier agreements, the water allocations made under them and the existing legal provisions could play an important role in the dispute.Citing agreements signed in 1955, 1959 and 1981 on the use and distribution of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej waters, the official said none provided for royalty or additional charges. “In March, the state govt described Punjab’s demand as unfounded on this basis,” he said.TOI tried to contact Rajasthan water resources minister Suresh Singh Rawat several times, but could not elicit a response.A source said Rajasthan would also seek legal advice if Punjab decided to pursue the matter further.
