Specter of no drinking water haunts Punjab: Badal

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the state wanted "justice" as per the Riparian Principle on the issue of sharing of river waters with Haryana and stressed that the spectre of Punjab turning into a desert loomed large due to falling water levels.
"The entire populace of the state, not just its farmers, are facing the ominous spectre of the state turning into a desert in less than a decade. Children would be deprived of even a drop of drinking water," he said.
He said all the state wanted was justice and not a favour on the issue of sharing of river waters and the construction of contentious Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal. He added that there was a widely applied yardstick for deciding such cases.

"This is known as Riparian Principle which dictates that the water of a river belongs only to the state and country or states and countries through which the river in question flows," he said.
"We have been demanding that this yardstick which has been applied while deciding all other river disputes in the country and even internationally must not be violated merely to loot Punjab and deprive its people of what the nature gave them," the Chief Minister said.
"Nothing beyond the Riparian Principle can ever become the basis of settlement of river water distribution. Punjab has always been seeking justice based on this principle. We are hopeful that courts will go by this principle alone while deciding on the case," he said.

He claimed that the "reckless looting" of Punjab's river waters had already created a scary situation with underground water levels falling at a shocking rate.

"It will require a superhuman effort now even to simply retrieve the situation and arrest this dangerous slide," Badal said.
With the SYL issue in the apex court, he said his government would not be able to honour any decision that has the potential of harming Punjab.
"At stake is the future of our children and the food security of the entire nation," he said.
He appealed to policy makers at the Centre to ensure that the country came to rescue of Punjab farmers.

To a question about the possibility of granting interim
relief to government employees in the wake of 6th Punjab Pay Commission, the Chief Minister said the state government would take a final call after due deliberations with the current Pay Commission.
On the issue of reported raid by Vigilance Department on an engineering college at Jalalabad run by the family of SAD MP from Ferozepur Sher Singh Gubaya, he said he was not aware of it, though he asserted that Gubaya was just like a family member and party did not have any differences with him.
Earlier, addressing public gatherings during the Sangat Darshan programmes at Tohra, Bahdson, Nabha and Chittanwala, he said the unprecedented development and pro-people policies of the ruling alliance would certainly help return the state government into power for the third consecutive term with a thumping majority.

The Chief Minister dared Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh to list a single achievement during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2002 to 2007 and alleged that his government was credited with ruining the state's economy with the decay of industry, agriculture and allied sectors.
He said on the contrary, his government had made all efforts to put the derailed economy back on the track.
Seeking people's support for the SAD-BJP alliance during the upcoming Assembly polls, Badal appealed to them not to be swayed by the alleged false propaganda of Congress whose ultimate goal, he claimed, was to satiate their lust for power not to serve the people.

The Chief Minister further said another chance to the ruling alliance would help the incumbent government to accomplish its unfinished agenda of overall development and prosperity in the state.