New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) Union Environment and Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday took a jibe at AAP Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha, who had raised the issue of Punjab’s water crisis, noting that the matter he was highlighting pertains to the state government run by his own party.

Amid loud desk-thumping from the treasury benches, Bhupender Yadav remarked, “Raghav Chadha ji ne sach kaha ya Mukhyamantri ji se narazgi hai.” (Did Raghav Chadha speak the truth, or is he upset with the Chief Minister?)”

The Union Minister further said the state has faltered in fighting disease and curbing pollution.

“Punjab has failed to safeguard subjects entrusted to it under the State List. We know the peril of land pollution; we have issued repeated notices. It remains the gravest challenge, and the state government is at work upon it,” said the Union Minister.

Earlier, participating in a debate on a water pollution-related amendment Act, Raghav Chadha invoked the wisdom of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

“Air is the Guru, water the father, and earth the mother,” the AAP MP said.

He reminded the House that Punjab, his home, is the land of five rivers — Panj plus Aab.

“Yet today,” he lamented, “this land of rivers faces its greatest trial: the crisis of water, both in quality and in quantity.”

“When the nation hungered, Punjab launched the Green Revolution. When India needed grain, Punjab fed her. When the country sought a hero, Punjab became one. But that hero now pays a heavy price. Farmers, in their service to the nation, turned to chemical fertilisers and pesticides, cultivated rice that drank deep of water, and drew endlessly from the tube wells. The consequence is toxic water and a sinking water table. This is not the farmers’ fault; it is the cost of feeding India,” he said.

Chadha’s warning was stark, saying that the Union government’s 2025 Groundwater Quality Report reveals Punjab as the state most afflicted by uranium contamination.

“Uranium is no ordinary metal. It is radioactive, a heavy poison that brings kidney damage, cancer, brittle bones, and cripples generations yet unborn. Post-monsoon samples show 62.5 per cent above safe limits. Arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium—all exceed WHO thresholds, especially in the Malwa belt; Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Sangrur, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Fazilka.”

Chadha declared that Punjab does not beg for charity; it demands justice, adding that for fifty years, Punjab has been the backbone of India’s food security.

“Today, the nation must stand by Punjab,” he said.

He concluded with a blueprint for revival, saying that launch a Punjab Water Restoration Mission, adding that the institute would provide round-the-clock digital monitoring of industrial discharge.

“Employ ecological engineering to breathe life back into rivers. Guarantee safe drinking water for all. And let independent foreign audits ensure accountability,” he said.

Yadav’s reply came after the debate on a “Statutory Resolution” he himself had moved. The resolution sought the adoption of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024, an Act that decriminalises minor offences, for the State of Manipur.

With the President’s Rule in force in Manipur since 13 February 2025 under Article 356, the resolution would extend the Amendment Act to Manipur from the date of its passage.

–IANS

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