Click to play videoChandigarh: A three-way tug of war over water is taking place in North India as Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh ask each other to pay royalties for using water from rivers that originate in their respective states.
Political affiliations at the Centre seem to have been forgotten as the Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh governments are at loggerheads over water.
It all started with Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal saying that the river water flowing through his state into Haryana is Punjab's property and that the Haryana government must pay for the water it uses.
"The Government of India should consider that if other states are getting royalty then we should get it too," says Badal.
The demand from the Akali Dal-BJP government has incensed the Congress government in Haryana. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in turn has claimed that Punjab is not honouring the water sharing agreements it has with his state. He has in fact asked that Punjab should pay royalties to Haryana for using water earmarked for it.
"We are taking what belongs to us. Instead Punjab should pay us royalties since they have been using our share of water," says Hooda.
Even as the battle over water rages, Himachal Pradesh has also jumped into the fray. The BJP government in Shimla is now taking on its ally Akali Dal with Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal saying all the rivers flowing through Punjab originate in Himachal, and Punjab and Haryana should pay royalties to his state
Water sharing has been a contentious issue between Punjab and Haryana for several years. This fresh controversy has further fuelled the struggle.
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