Punjab demands ₹1.44 lakh crore from Rajasthan as water royalty

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced plans to recover unpaid water royalty dues from the Rajasthan government under a 1920 tripartite agreement, following which the neighbouring state began receiving water. He said Rajasthan gave royalty to Punjab for water till 1960, but it stopped thereafter. “The Rajasthan government owes this amount to Punjab for the water drawn through the Ferozepur feeder, for which not even a single paisa has been paid for the past more than six decades,” he added.

Refuting such claims, a senior Rajasthan official familiar with the development said the state is a partner in the project and has also contributed its share of the financial expenditure for building the irrigation system. The official added that the issue is already under consideration before an inter-state water dispute tribunal, questioning the basis of Punjab’s demand.

Reiterating the historical context, Mann said that under the agreement signed in September 1920 between the then Maharaja of Bikaner, the state of Bahawalpur (now in Pakistan), and the British government, Rajasthan had agreed to pay for water on a per-acre basis.