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Faridabad, Nov 17 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann reiterated his claim on Chandigarh, Panjab University, river waters besides advocating for a truly federal structure in the country before Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the 32nd meeting of the Northern Territorial Council here on Monday.
Highlighting the issues, the Chief Minister said that the Constitution has clearly demarcated the areas in which the Union and the States have to act in exercising their respective powers. He said federalism is “one of the basic pillars of our Constitution, but unfortunately, there has been a tendency for centralization of power during the last 75 years”.
CM Mann underlined that state governments, being leaders, are in a better position to understand, address and solve the problems of their people. Advocating the handing over of Chandigarh to Punjab, the Chief Minister said that after the reorganization of the state, the Indira Gandhi Accord of 1970 had clearly stated that “the capital project area of Chandigarh, as a whole, would go to Punjab, which was a clear commitment on the part of the Central Government”.
He said the Rajiv-Longowal Agreement signed between the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Harchand Singh Longowal on July 24, 1985, clearly confirmed that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab. However, CM Mann said, despite all the promises, Chandigarh was not transferred to Punjab, which has hurt the psyche of every Punjabi.
Raising the issue of maintaining the status quo of 60:40 ratio in the entry of service personnel from Punjab and Haryana into the functioning of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the Chief Minister said that this was the need of the hour. He said that it is a matter of serious concern that IAS and PCS officers have been kept out of key posts in the Chandigarh administration.
CM Mann said that posts in departments like Excise, Education, Finance and Health are being opened for cadres like State UT Cadre (DENICS), thereby adversely affecting the role of the state of Punjab in the effective functioning of Chandigarh administration.
The Chief Minister said that another related issue is the posting of Punjab cadre officers to the post of General Manager of Food Corporation of India (FCI), Punjab. He said that, in view of Punjab’s consistently highest contribution to the Central Pool, the established trend of posting an IAS officer from Punjab cadre to the regional office of FCI should not be disturbed by the Government of India.
In view of the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, the Chief Minister said that “there is a huge opportunity for resolution of water related issues related to the states represented here”. He said there is a possibility of linking Chenab river with Ravi and Beas rivers, on which the state already has dams controlling water flow.
By linking Chenab with Ravi and Beas rivers, the surplus water flow can be used by downstream states including Punjab for both power generation and irrigation purposes, Mann said, adding that the additional water will also help Punjab overcome water shortage, especially in the border areas.
Raising the issue of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the Chief Minister opposed the proposal to appoint a full-time member from Rajasthan in the BBMB, as the Board is a body constituted under the Punjab Reorganization Act 1966, which deals only with the successor states of Punjab and Haryana.
He said Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh were already represented as ex-officio members, and creating additional full-time posts would only increase the expenditure, the majority of which was borne by Punjab, without serving any useful purpose.
Mann said that Punjab has already submitted a panel for appointment of members and the Government of India should continue with the basic arrangement of one member each from Punjab and Haryana.
–IANS
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