Punjab Water Row: Is Section 14 the bigger threat to Punjab’s water rights?… by Gurpreet Singh Mandyani
The Punjab government’s assurance to farmer leaders that it will pass a resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha seeking the repeal of Sections 78 and 79 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, is a step in the right direction, particularly for those opposing what they describe as the continued exploitation of Punjab’s river waters.
However, there is another provision that, according to this argument, is potentially more significant than Sections 78 and 79 but is rarely discussed in the debate over Punjab’s water rights: Section 14 of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956.
It is possible that farmer leaders are not fully aware of the implications of this provision. Otherwise, they might also have demanded that the Punjab government pass a resolution against the corresponding provision.
Following the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, the new states of Punjab and Haryana, along with the Union Territory of Chandigarh and the reorganised state of Himachal Pradesh, emerged from the erstwhile Punjab. These were treated as successor states for the purposes of the division of assets, liabilities and other administrative matters.
To deal with these issues, Parliament enacted the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. Section 78 dealt with the regulation and development of water resources of the successor states. It provided for the continuation of certain arrangements concerning the Ravi-Beas river waters and empowered the Central Government to make decisions in specified circumstances.
Section 79 provided for the establishment of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), a Central Government-controlled body responsible for regulating the supply of power and water from the Bhakra-Beas projects to the successor states.
The broader dispute over the distribution of Ravi and Beas waters, however, predates the 1966 reorganisation.
On January 29, 1955, an Inter-State Conference was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Irrigation Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda. Representatives of Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir participated in the meeting. The conference arrived at an allocation of Ravi-Beas waters in which Rajasthan was allotted 8.00 million acre-feet, Punjab, including the area that later became Haryana, 7.20 million acre-feet, and Jammu and Kashmir 0.65 million acre-feet, taking the total availability as 15.85 million acre-feet.
Following the reorganisation of Punjab, the Central Government announced a distribution of Ravi-Beas waters on March 24, 1976, invoking powers under the Punjab Reorganisation Act.
The Punjab government subsequently challenged Section 78 before the Supreme Court in 1979, questioning its constitutional validity. The matter, however, did not reach a final judicial determination on the constitutional validity of the provision.
The dispute over Punjab’s river waters later became part of a broader political and legal process involving Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The Punjab Accord, also known as the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, signed on July 24, 1985, provided for the setting up of a tribunal to determine the respective shares of Punjab and Haryana in the Ravi-Beas waters, with Rajasthan also included in the process.
The Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, provides the statutory framework for the constitution of tribunals to adjudicate disputes concerning the waters of inter-State rivers or river valleys. The law was subsequently amended to facilitate the constitution of a tribunal in accordance with the Punjab Accord.
It was against this background that the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal, commonly referred to as the Eradi Tribunal after its chairman Justice V. Balakrishna Eradi, was constituted to examine the water-sharing claims involving Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The argument being advanced here is that Section 14 of the amended Inter-State Water Disputes Act created a special legal framework for the Ravi-Beas dispute and that this provision therefore deserves the same attention from Punjab’s farmer organisations as Sections 78 and 79 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act.
Under Article 262 of the Constitution, Parliament has the power to provide by law for the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers or river valleys and to exclude the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and other courts in such disputes.
The water-sharing dispute between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan has continued for decades, with various legal, political and administrative developments surrounding the Ravi-Beas waters and the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
Against this backdrop, those advocating a review of Punjab’s water-sharing arrangements argue that any discussion on Sections 78 and 79 should also examine the legal implications of Section 14 of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act.
Therefore, the demand before the Punjab government, according to this argument, should not be limited to Sections 78 and 79. Farmer organisations should also consider seeking a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha calling for a review of the legal framework created under Section 14 and its implications for Punjab’s water rights.
September 18, 2026:
-
-
Gurpreet Singh Mandyani, Gurpreet Singh Mandyani
gurpreetmandiani@gmail.com
Phone No. : 8872664000
Disclaimer : The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the writer/author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Babushahi.com or Tirchhi Nazar Media. Babushahi.com or Tirchhi Nazar Media does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.