Welcoming positive and constructive suggestions given by leaders of all the parties, the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said that the State Government would seek time from the Prime Minister to take an all-party delegation to represent Punjab’s case.

“The internationally accepted riparian principles have been ignored in the distribution of water in India,” he pointed out, stressing the need to correct the same.

He also announced that the State Government would hold such all-party meetings every six months to discuss important issues related to Punjab.

Terming the water problem a vital issue of concern to the whole of Punjab, and not just to his Government or the Congress party, the Chief Minister pointed out that water had emerged as a global issue in view of the climate change and melting glaciers.

“Cities are predicted to go under water across the world,” he noted, adding that while that “might not happen in our time, we owe it to the future generations to find a solution”.

The meeting had been convened to discuss the issue threadbare and arrive at a consensus to facilitate the formulation of a cohesive and long-term policy, he said.

Expressing concern over the depleting groundwater table, the Chief Minister observed that the level in Punjab rivers had reduced from 17 MAF, as listed by the Eradi Commission, to less than 13 MAF now.

“State Government has been pressing the Prime Minister to form a fresh Commission to assess the current water levels in Punjab’s three rivers. This is imperative in view of the changed situation,” he said after the meeting.