Punjab
Punjab Demands Water Dues from Rajasthan
- 23 Mar 2026
- 3 min read
Why in News?
The Chief Minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, has revived an inter-state water dispute with Rajasthan by demanding ₹1.44 lakh crore as dues for river water supplied to Rajasthan since 1960 under a historic agreement.
Key Points:
- Background: The dispute traces its origin to a 1920 agreement between the princely state of Bikaner, undivided Punjab, and the British administration, under which water from the Sutlej River was supplied to Bikaner through canal systems.
- Claim: Punjab has written to the Rajasthan government seeking ₹1.44 lakh crore as water royalty dues for water drawn from rivers flowing through its territory since 1960, citing colonial‑era agreements still in force.
- Impact of Indus Waters Treaty: After the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty, India gained full control over the eastern rivers — Sutlej River, Beas River, and Ravi River — leading to reorganisation of internal water distribution and the discontinuation of the earlier royalty system.
- Subsequent Agreements: In 1981, a tripartite agreement between Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan reallocated the waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers, with Rajasthan receiving about 8.6 million acre-feet (MAF) — the largest share.
- The allocation formalised Rajasthan’s entitlement and supported the expansion of the Indira Gandhi Canal system, which carries water from the Harike Barrage in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab deep into the Thar desert.
- Punjab’s Argument: Punjab’s core argument rests on the riparian principle: that states through which rivers flow should have primary rights over their waters.
- Rajasthan does not lie in the basin of the Ravi, Beas or Sutlej, making it a non-riparian state.
- Punjab argues that allocating a larger share to such a state, especially in a water-stressed scenario, is inequitable.
- As per the Central Ground Water Board assessment for 2024-25, Punjab has the highest groundwater extraction rate in India at 156.36% of the annual extractable resource, far above the national average of 60.63%.
| Read More: Inter‑state water dispute, Sutlej Yamuna Link Dispute, Indus Waters Treaty |
