July 29-aug. 04/2009

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July 29-Aug. 04/2009

The Charhdi Kala 25

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Is the Indian Supreme Court in cahoots with non-riparian Haryana in the latest conspiracy to steal water-short Punjab’s river water? A 3-member bench of the Supreme Court will hear Punjab’s 2-years old Special Leave Petition, on Sept. 8, against the illegal construction by Haryana of the Hansi-Butana canal, on its territory, which it hopes will be able to siphon FREE water, from the Bhakra Main Line canal, after a ‘wink & a nod’, on September 8, from the anti-Sikh Indian Supreme Court of the world’s largest demoNcracy

Punjabis urged to go for Civil disobedience Washington D.C. Wednesday 29 July, 2009: Last week (on 23 July, 2009) a threemember Bench of the Indian Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, has suddenly ‘woken up from a 2-years-long deep slumber’ and directed the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to file all their documents, (within seven weeks, by 8 September, 2009) about the matter of the 109-Km long Hansi-Butana multi-purpose link channel which has been illegally constructed, in its territory, by the non-riparian state of Haryana, to siphon - read steal – ‘FREE’ water from the Bhakra Main Line (BML) canal into the Western Yamuna canal in Haryana. Non-riparian Haryana’s hasty, illegal and unauthorized Hansi-Butana canal ‘exercise’ is a replay of the SYL (Sutlej-Yumna-Link) canal conspiracy which the captive people of the water-short Sikh Homeland, of Indianoccupied Punjab, luckily thwarted, by a show of unity, stubborn courage and true grit – and a lot of faith in Sikhi. Readers may recall that Punjab Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal after going back on his election promise to scrap the generous section 5 of the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act-2004, (passed earlier by the Punjab assembly, under the leadership of the then Punjab Chief minister Captain Amrinder Singh) had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) with the Indian Supreme Court, over two years ago, on 11 July, 2007, to be precise. The Punjab government’s SLP was against the construction of the illegal 109-km long multi-purpose Hansi-Butana canal, which was being built by the non-riparian state of Haryana (inside Haryana territory) to steal additional water, for FREE, from the Bhakra Mainline canal, which feeds Southern Punjab and Rajasthan, and passes through Haryana territory. According to a report at that time, on 12 July, 2007, published in the Chandigarhbased Tribune newspaper, Punjab and Rajasthan had registered their (> http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070712/main10.htm <) protests with with not only Haryana and the Union government, but also with the BBMB - Bhakra Beas Management Board - prior to filing the Special Leave Petition with the Supreme Court. The two states (Punjab & Rajasthan) had earlier protested on the grounds that ‘the new canal was being dug, without authority, and was not only in contravention of the Bhakra agreement, but would also deprive large areas of Punjab and Rajasthan from their due share of water’. The July 2007 Tribune report also mentioned that a senior Punjab minister had accused Union minister for Water Resources, Saifuddin Soz, of having taken a bribe from Haryana for ‘adopting a double standard for justifying the construction of the illegal canal in Haryana, while opposing construction of a similar project - the Dasmesh canal in the Punjab’. According to media reports at that time - in 2007 - the Punjab government had taken the legal step, of petitioning the Supreme Court, after registering repeated protests with BBMB (Bhakra Beas Management Board) the Central government and the state of Haryana against the planned ‘highway robbery’ of water-short Punjabs’ river waters via the new Hansi-Butana water channel. The Punjab government had, according to the Tribune newspaper, asked Punjab Advocate-general, Hardev Singh Mattewal, to take all legal measures to stall the construction of the 109-km Hansi-Butana multi-purpose illegal link channel meant to siphon water – without permission and without payment of any royalty or charge - from the Bhakra Main Line (BML) canal.” The question that comes to mind is that, what other legal measures did the Punjab Advocate-general, Hardev Singh Mattewal, take since then, or has he been just twiddling his Thumbs in his comfortable office? Readers might recall the Khalistan Calling, of 26 October, 2005, which column, nearly four years ago, was headlined, “Non-ripariam Haryana to start work on an illegal SirsaHansi canal which will flout the ‘Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act, 2004’ by tapping into Ravi-Beas waters via the Bhakra Main line canal.” That column can be read by clicking at:> /home/khalistancalling/2005/october26.aspx < Six months earlier, to the above mentioned column, (over four years ago on 6 April, 2005) another Khalistan Calling column was headlined, “Non-ripariam Haryana to start work on an illegal SirsaHansi canal which will tap into Ravi-Beas waters via the Bhakra main line canal. Punjab leaders urged to unite to ‘take up the gauntlet’ & meet this challenge to our future generations head on”. (> www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2005/ april06.aspx <) In that Khalistan Calling, of April 06, 2005, a ‘wake up call’ was given to the Punjabi leadership when sources reported that a conspiracy was brewing, in non-riparian Haryana state, to steal water-short Punjab’s Ravi/ Beas rivers water via an illegal new link canal to be built inside the territory of non-riparian Haryana. That presciently column said that, “Our sources have gotten back pronto with inside information. They report that some Haryana state Congress leaders have come up with the suggestion that Haryana state

From: Dr. Amarjit Singh 956- National Press Building Washington D.C. 20045 Ph: 202.637.9210 Fax: 202.637.9211 www.khalistan-affairs.org e-mail: [email protected]

ought to siphon water from the Bhakra Main Line canal (which currently carries Sutlej river water to Western Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab) at a location in the Narwana sub-division through which it passes, by constructing a new eighty Kilometer long link canal from there to carry water into the Yumna canal system, near Panipat, all inside Haryana territory. These Congress leaders had also convinced themselves, and probably the Haryana Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as well, that the Sikh majority population of Punjab is so divided (and so fixated on the SYL canal issue) that they won’t even know when the Hindudominated, anti/ Sikh officials of the BBMB (Bhakra Beas Management Board) who have full control over the Bhakra Nangal dam and Nangal headworks (unlike the Ropar, Harike and Ferozepore headworks which are controlled by the state of Punjab) secretly increase the outflow in the Bhakra canal to the detriment of the Punjab.” End of April 2005 quote. The Khalistan Calling campaign, about the conspiracy brewing against the people of Punjab in Haryana, was continued in the column of 18 July, 2007. That column was headlined, “Conspiracy (> http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2007/july18.aspx <) brewing against Punjab in Delhi and Haryana. Punjab government approaches Indian Supreme court against the planned ‘highway robbery’, by the state of Haryana to steal Punjab’s water from the Bhakra Mainline canal via the nearly complete illegal HansiButana canal, dug inside Haryana territory.” Another Khalistan Calling of 2 January, 2008, continued with the ‘wake up call to Punjab’ campaign and came out with another expose and it was (> http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/home/khalistancalling/2008/january02.aspx <) headlined, “Indian Supreme Court plans to ambush the people of Punjab, after the New Year, by deciding water disputes in Haryana’s favor.” The column urged the Punjabis, particularly the Sikhs, that they MUST remember the SYL canal saga and organize Jathas forthwith, in civil disobedience, to help replenish the falling underground water table in the Punjab by simply siphoning water from various canals crisscrossing Punjab territory, including the Bhakra Mainline canal. “What is good for the goose is also good for the gander” is an old adage. If the government of the non-riparian state of Haryana can have the chutzpah (shameless audacity) to construct an illegal 109 kilometers long canal in its territory, without consultation or permission, from any authority, then, why can’t the state of Punjab, and the unhappy people of that ‘occupied land’ do the same – tap into the canals to recharge their underground water - in a massive act of civil disobedience? The final ‘straw on the camel’s back,’ is last week’s New Delhi datelined report, (dated 22 July, 2009) by the legal correspondent of the Tribune newspaper, R Sedhuraman, headlined, “Hansi Butana Case - SC asks states to file documents in four weeks,” which dispatch claims that ‘the Supreme Court today directed Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to file all their (> http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090723/nation.htm#10 <) documents within ‘seven’ weeks, in the so-called dispute, over the 109-km Hansi-Butana canal (illegally) constructed by Haryana. A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan posted for 8 September, 2009, as the next hearing date in the original suit filed by Punjab in 2007, objecting to Haryana’s proposal to draw water from the Bhakhra Main Line (BML) from a downstream point. Senior counsel Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for Punjab – it seems Badal cannot find a patriotic Sikh Lawyer in the Punjab - sought an early date for taking evidence on the original suit, while Haryana’s counsel Vinod Arvind Bobde sought an interim order allowing his client state to draw water through the Hansi-Butana canal right away. Counsel for Haryana, Bobde said the Central Water Commission’s report had gone in favor of Haryana, (he did not mention the bribe given to minister Saifuddin Soz) which nonriparian state wanted to provide drinking water to its south-western parts, covering Mewat, Rewari, Mahendergarh and Gurgaon. Justice P. Sathasivam, who is also part of the Bench, clarified that recording of evidence would also cover the interlocutory application of Haryana, seeking permission to puncture the BML at a lower point for taking water through the canal. The above Tribune report gives a clear indication of the anti-Punjab direction that the Supreme Court is going to take when the proceedings start on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. The issue here, even a layman can understands that, is NOT permission to take ‘drinking’ water at a lower point from the Bhakra Mainline canal, as dishonestly suggested by Justice P. Sathasivam, but the rogue and lawless behavior of the government of Haryana, a non-riparian state, which is trying to legalize an illegal action, of building a 109 kilometer long canal without consultation and permission of the proper authorities in Delhi and Chandigarh, a deliberate act against the letter and spirit of established International Riparian Laws. WAKE UP PUNJAB! Khalistan Zindabad