Punjab-Haryana water dispute: Haryana fails to justify demand for additional 8,500 cusecs, says Union Home Secretary

New Delhi: Union Home Secretary Gobind Mohan chaired a meeting to address the ongoing water dispute between Punjab and Haryana, where Haryana officials failed to present a concrete justification for their demand of an additional 8,500 cusecs of water.

The meeting, attended by the chief secretaries of four states, saw the Union Home Secretary urge both Punjab and Haryana to move beyond rigid positions and submit a detailed rationale to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to assess Haryana’s water demand.

“If there is merit in Haryana’s demand, the state should take the borrowed water from Punjab unconditionally and must return it when Punjab requires it,” Mohan said during the meeting.

Punjab was represented by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Alok Shekhar and Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department, Krishan Kumar.

The Union Home Secretary made it clear that the Centre would not directly intervene in the dispute and advised both states to engage in further talks in the coming days. He also directed the Punjab government to submit specific facts to justify its own water requirements.

While Haryana officials reiterated that the state had been receiving excess water for the past decade, they were unable to present a convincing case for the current demand.

Mohan stressed that the BBMB must take a decision based on the actual water needs of both states and the availability of water in the dams.