On Tuesday, Arvind Kejriwal said in Punjab the state does not have enough water to share with Haryana.
Highlights
- Kejriwal says Haryana cannot cut off water to Delhi
- He has sided with Punjab in its water war with Haryana
- Haryana wrote to Delhi warning, "Build your own canal"
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal somewhat sanctimoniously said today, "There should be no politics over water."
If his declaration grates, it is because on Tuesday, he said during a visit to Punjab that the state does not have enough water to share with neighbouring Haryana.
Mr Kejriwal's blatant siding with Punjab in a vicious battle over water with Haryana is not without self-interest: his Aam Aadmi Party or AAP, which did surprising well in Punjab in the general election, is hoping for a bigger footprint in next year's state election there.
Coveting votes, AAP has not distinguished itself from the other parties in Punjab who have all agreed that decades-old agreements to share water with Haryana are invalid - even though the Supreme Court is hearing the case. In open defiance of the top court, parties are also competing to lead farmers in different parts of the state from shoveling mud into a major canal to prevent it from routing water to Haryana.
The Sutlej-Yamuna canal is nearly 85% ready after decades in the making. More than 700 crores have been spent on it, with Haryana picking up most of the tab.
But the Punjab legislature has decided land acquired from farmers to complete the canal must be returned to them immediately because there will be no water-sharing. Punjab Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki has not signed the legislation; and the Supreme Court has said no land should be handed back for now. The legislature's response: we're going ahead, anyway.
Haryana, infuriated by Mr Kejriwal's jutting into the dispute- has sent a biting letter to the Delhi government, suggesting it "build its own canal". Last month, a violent protest in Haryana saw a major canal being seized and damaged; Delhi was left without water; it took the army to "free" the canal.
Mr Kejriwal and his government have said Haryana's threat to stop the water supply to Delhi doesn't frighten them. "They will (have to) give water - how can they not?" said Mr Kejriwal, stressing that water-sharing has been ordered by the Supreme Court.