The Violence of the Green Revolution by Vandana Shiva

Author:Vandana Shiva
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2016-04-18T04:00:00+00:00

Figure 15

Source: India Today, Nov 30 1985

‘Notwithstanding anything contained in this act but subject to the provisions of Sections 79 and 80, all rights and liabilities of the existing State of Punjab in relation to Bhakra Nangal Project and Beas Project shall, on the appointed day, be the rights and liabilities of the successor states in such proportion as may be fixed, and subject to such adjustments as may be made, by agreement entered into by the said states after consultation with the Central Government, or if no such agreement is entered into within two years of the appointed day, as the Central Government may by order determine having regard to the purposes of the projects.’21

To resolve the conflict, there were fact-finding committees, Planning Commission interventions and also recommendations by the Chairman of the Central Water Commission. Finally, the Central government issued an order on 24 March, 1976 about the apportionment of surplus Ravi-Beas waters in accordance with the provisions of Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, according to which 3.5 MAF of water was allocated to Haryana and the balance, not exceeding 3.5 MAF, to Punjab, out of the total surplus of Ravi-Beas water of 7.2 MAF falling to the share of the erstwhile state of Punjab after setting aside 0.2 MAF for the Delhi Drinking Water Supply.

This decision was taken during the emergency, and was resisted by the people and government of Punjab. Resistance to the decision was also expressed in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, presented at the Ludhiana Conference of the Akali party of Punjab in 1978. Resolution No. 2 of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution states:

2(a) The control of head works should continue to be vested in Punjab, and if need be, the Reorganization Act should be amended.

2(b) The arbitrary and unjust Award given by Mrs Indira Gandhi during the Emergency on the distribution of Ravi-Beas waters should be revised on the universally accepted norms and principles thereby allowing justice to be done to Punjab.22

In 1977, the Congress was defeated in the general elections, largely as a consequence of the emergency. The then Punjab Government under the Akali Dal sought a review of the notification for a higher allocation of the Ravi-Beas waters. The Haryana government, meanwhile, filed a petition in the Supreme Court praying, inter-alia, that a directive be issued to Punjab for expeditiously undertaking the construction of the Punjab portion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and declaring that the 1976 notification of the Centre allocating 3.5 MAF of Ravi-Beas waters each to Punjab and Haryana, was final and binding. Punjab also approached the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 as also the 1976 notification, apportioning the surplus Ravi-Beas flows between the two states. This case further delayed the resolution of the conflict.

After the break-up of the Janata Party, the Lok Sabha elections and Mrs Gandhi’s return to power at the Centre, the Akali-Janata coalition in the Punjab which enjoyed majority support was removed, and President’s rule was imposed.

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