CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, on Tuesday announced that the State Government would move the Supreme Court challenging Monday's verdict of the Rajasthan High Court directing Punjab to hand over the administration, maintenance and operations of three headworks to the Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

Talking to reporters after chairing a meeting of his Council of Ministers, Capt Singh while describing the decision as unfortunate said that necessary instructions had been passed to the Advocate-General, to engage competent legal experts to plead Punjab's case before the Supreme Court. He indicated that Punjab was contemplating challenging Clauses 70, 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966.

`Alarming development'

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Parkash Singh Badal, described the decision of the Rajasthan High Court as a "very grave and alarming development'', which according to him was the direct consequence and culmination of betrayals and blunders of the successive Congress governments on Punjab's river waters issue.

Through a statement issued here, Mr. Badal said that the seeds of this judgment were sown when the former Chief Minister, late Darbara Singh, withdrew Punjab's case filed by the preceding Akali-led coalition government challenging clause 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act.

Mr. Badal said that the insertion of Clause 5 in the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004, ensuring river water flow to Rajasthan, provided immediate moral legitimacy for such a momentous judgment. He said that the clause was inserted despite the Akalis cautioning the government against it. The SAD had even given a notice for a bill to repeal the clause in the last session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha but the Congress never allowed it to be moved.

Clause `ultra vires'

The Akali leader said that the Monday's judgment flowed from those clauses of the reorganisation Act, which empowered the Centre to adjudicate on division of river waters and other immovable assets between Punjab and Haryana. He went on to argue that clause 78 was `ultra vires' of the Constitution and reminded that during his previous tenure as Chief Minister, the State Government had challenged it in the apex court.

"But once the Congress formed the next government in the State, the first thing Punjab saw was the summoning of the Chief Minister, Darbara Singh, by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. She publicly rebuked and forced him into withdrawing the case. This was done to rob Punjab of its right on its river waters and giving these off to the neighbouring States of Haryana and Rajasthan. That is the root cause of all the problems that Punjab has been facing on the issue of river waters all these years,'' said the Akali president.

The Akali leader said that it was still not too late for Capt Singh, as the Rajasthan High Court's decision could serve as a cause of action to challenge the Re-organisation Act.

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