Syllabus: 

GS2: Functions and Responsibilities of the Union and the States, Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure, Devolution of Powers and Finances up to Local Levels and Challenges Therein.

Context: 

Tensions between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing have resurfaced, as all parties in Punjab refuses to accept the Bhakra Beas Management Boards’s (BBMB’s) decision to release an extra 4,500 cusecs of water to Haryana.

More on the News 

• Haryana sought 8,500 cusecs of water, 4,500 cusecs more than its usual share, from the Bhakra-Nangal project, citing a severe drinking water shortage in its western districts.
• Haryana argues that its several districts were facing acute drinking water shortages.
• BBMB approved Haryana’s request with support from Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi; Himachal Pradesh abstained, while Punjab opposed it. 
• Earlier this month, both states had called all-party meetings to build political consensus around the water demands. 
• Haryana has also been demanding that the incomplete Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal, originally envisaged to connect Ravi and Beas river systems to Haryana, be completed. 
• The construction in Punjab was abandoned in the 1990s owing to militant threats and political opposition. 
• The Supreme court had on January 15, 2002, ruled in favour of Haryana in a suit filed by it in 1996, and directed the Punjab government to construct its portion of the SYL canal.

Bhakra-Nangal project

It was conceived as early as the 1910s, the Bhakra-Nangal project is among the earliest post-Independence River valley development projects.

It consists of two interconnected dams on the River Satluj: the Bhakra Dam in Himachal Pradesh and the Nangal Dam, located 10 km downstream in Punjab.

The Bhakra-Nangal Dam is the second tallest dam in Asia. It is the highest straight gravity dam in India with a height of about 207.26 meters and it runs across 168.35 km. 

• It creates the Gobind Sagar Reservoir, which covers an area of approximately 168.35 square kilometers and is among the largest in India.
• Nangal Dam: Located about 13 kilometers downstream of Bhakra Dam, it functions as a barrage to regulate water flow into the Nangal Hydel Channel, facilitating irrigation and power generation.

The dam is the second largest reservoir in India after the Indira Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh in terms of water storage.

It i a joint venture of three state governments i.e., Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab. 

Mains Question:

Q. Constitutional mechanisms to resolve the inter-state water disputes have failed to address and solve the problems. Is the failure due to structural or process inadequacy or both? Discuss. (2013)