Punjab CM Mann secures deferral on key state issues at Northern Zonal Council meeting

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the BJP-led Centre had agreed to defer as many as 11 agenda items related to the state, which were part of the deliberations during the meeting of the North Zonal Council (NZC) in Faridabad on Monday. Speaking to reporters, CM Mann said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had ordered a status quo on most of the issues related to Punjab. The issue about staff appointment in the administration and institutions of Chandigarh has been referred to the NZC standing committee, he added. Mann criticised the NZC members including Haryana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh for attempting to infringe the rights of the states. He said that it is unfortunate that Haryana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh are unnecessarily mounting pressure on Punjab. The Punjab CM alleged that the leadership of these states have made a mockery of the platform by making unjust demands seeking a share in the resources of the state and even its rivers. He said that in the NZC meeting, all the member states put forth their views, and as the head of the state, he also presented the case of Punjab. Out of a total 28 agenda items, 11 were related to Punjab, and for the first time, due to the strenuous efforts of the state government, all of them were deferred, he said. Those who are making a fuss over river waters must understand one thing, a real-time assessment of the availability of river waters should be made, for which the presence of water must be reviewed, Mann said. Mann quipped that Haryana has made a very strange demand --that Punjab should be restrained from constructing mini hydel projects on the Bhakra Main Line (BML) on the grounds that it would hamper the flow of water. He said it was surprising that the naive leadership of Haryana was indulging in such baseless tantrums far removed from facts. He added that issues related to the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) can be resolved only through the Yamuna Satluj Link (YSL), which would ensure the judicious use of Yamuna water. Punjab, he stressed, has no surplus water to divert through the SYL, and no scientific calculation has ever been carried out regarding water availability. Mann categorically reiterated that Punjab has no spare water to share with any state --there is no question about it, he said. In the wake of the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, he said there is now a significant opportunity to resolve long-pending water-related issues concerning the states represented at the meeting. There is a possibility, he added, of linking the Chenab river with the Ravi and Beas rivers, over which dams already regulate downstream water flow. He said that linking the Chenab with the Ravi and Beas would allow the surplus water inflow to be used productively by downstream states, including Punjab, for both power generation and irrigation. The additional water, he said, would also help Punjab bridge its water shortfall, particularly in the border areas. On the issue of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), Mann said he had strongly opposed the proposal to appoint a whole-time member in the BBMB from Rajasthan, arguing that the board was constituted under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and concerns only the successor states of Punjab and Haryana. Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh are already represented as ex officio members, he said, and creating additional whole-time posts would only increase expenditure --most of which is borne by Punjab-- without serving any useful purpose. Mann said he had also forcefully reiterated Punjabs longstanding demand for the transfer of Chandigarh to the state, noting that after the reorganisation of Punjab, the Indira Gandhi Agreement of 1970 clearly stated that the capital project area of Chandigarh will, as a whole, go to Punjab, reflecting an explicit commitment from the Centre. The Rajiv-Longowal Accord, signed on July 24, 1985, he added, reaffirmed that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab. On maintaining the 60:40 ratio in the intake of service personnel from Punjab and Haryana in the functioning of the UT of Chandigarh, the Chief Minister said that preserving the status quo was essential. He expressed concern that IAS and PCS officers from Punjab were being excluded from key positions in the Chandigarh administration. Posts in departments such as Excise, Education, Finance and Health, he said, were now being opened to cadres like the UT cadre (DANICS), thereby undermining Punjabs role in the effective functioning of the UT administration. He said Haryana and Himachal Pradesh had unilaterally withdrawn their colleges from Panjab University in 1973 and 1975 respectively, set up their own universities, and stopped funding Panjab University altogether. He said Punjab alone had supported and nurtured the university for 50 years, and questioned why Haryana now wanted to affiliate its colleges with Panjab University when they have been affiliated for decades with Kurukshetra University, an A+ NAAC-accredited institution. Mann reiterated that there should be no change in the status of Panjab University, adding that Panjab University is our university, and we will continue to support and fund it in the future as well.