Punjab to approach Supreme Court against Kishau Multipurpose Project, seeks Yamuna water share
PTC News Desk: Punjab is planning to approach the Supreme Court against the Kishau Multipurpose Project, objecting to the Centre moving ahead with the Yamuna basin project without consulting the state. Punjab is also reiterating its claim to a share of the Yamuna river waters.
Officials in Punjab's Water Resources Department said the state's Advocate General's office has been asked to approve a draft petition. The draft has already been reviewed by a senior lawyer who previously served as Punjab's Advocate General.
The move comes after Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi signed an agreement to move forward with the long-pending 422 MW Kishau project on the Tons river, a tributary of the Yamuna.
The project is expected to have a storage capacity of up to 1,562 million cubic metres. It is planned to supply water for irrigation, drinking and industrial use, besides generating electricity.
Punjab Claims Share of Yamuna Water
Punjab had earlier approached the Centre under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1957, on April 25 last year. The state sought the formation of a tribunal to decide its claim to a share of Yamuna waters.
Punjab says no action has been taken on its complaint so far, prompting the state to consider approaching the Supreme Court.
The state government argues that the same principles for sharing inter-state river waters should be applied consistently. It says the riparian principle or successor-state principle should not be applied selectively to exclude Punjab from its claimed share of the Yamuna waters.
- PTC NEWS
