The Punjab Government on Wednesday questioned Haryana's entitlement to Ravi-Beas waters saying if the latter can receive water under a 1981 Agreement without sharing its boundary with the river, it too must be entitled to receive water from Yamuna on the same condition.

This is the latest assertion from the Punjab Government in the ongoing legal battle with Haryana in Supreme Court over a pending water-sharing dispute.

Filing an affidavit to suggest that the1981 Agreement requires review by a fresh water tribunal, Punjab said that Haryana got 1.88 MAF from Ravi-Beas through Satluj-Yamuna link (SYl) Canal despite the river not touching Haryana's boundary. "Haryana has been allocated waters of Ravi-Beas under Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966, whereas Punjab has been denied Yamuna water on account of the fact that it is not a riparian State of river Yamuna. The waters of rivers Ravi-Beas stand on equal footing with those of river Yamuna. Therefore if Ravi-Beas waters are considered for distribution between Punjab and Haryana, Yamuna waters should also figure in any scheme for equitable distribution of river waters amongst Punjab and Haryana," said the affidavit, filed by Punjab Irrigation Secretary Kahan Singh Pannu.

Making out a case for review of the December 31, 1981 Agreement, Punjab claimed that over the years flow in the river has decreased from 17.17 MAF to 14.37 MAF, ground water table has depleted and needs of Punjab have increased with over nine lakh acres of agriculture land dependant on water from Ravi-Beas. It was this reason, the State recently enacted a law Punjab Satluj Yamuna link (SYl) Canal land (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Act 2016 by which it decided to restore the land acquired for constructing the SYl Canal to the original landowners.

Besides its share of 1.88 MAF of Ravi-Beas waters, Punjab claimed that Haryana received 1.62 MAF of Ravi-Beas water through Narwana branch of Bhakra Main line System, besides getting 4.33 MAF of Sutlej water in addition to 4.65 MAF of Yamuna water. Punjab argued that post 1981 Agreement, Haryana got added water share while Punjab had to draw out its needs from the Ravi-Beas wateThe government is committed to protect interest of farmr. "The apportionment (under the Agreement) was purely ad hoc, interim, and political."

The State even relied on the hydrological and environmental impact of such large scale trans-basin diversion of river water which was neither investigated nor considered. "When the agreements were drawn in 1980s for allocating Ravi Beas waters the legal obligation to protect the environment and ecology was not known," it said, adding that all these aspects need to be considered in the suit filed by Punjab and not in the present application filed by Haryana in a pending Presidential Reference.