Chandigarh, July 31 -- Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday stated that the Punjab government has sent a bill of Rs.113.24 crore to Haryana for the operation and maintenance of the Bhakra canal. Addressing a press conference here at Punjab Bhawan, Cheema said the bill represents pending liability and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is vigorously pursuing the recovery of long-standing dues owed to Punjab by other partner states in the BBMB. "The state government has formally addressed these critical issues with the defaulting states. The pending Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) liability, amounting to Rs.113.24 crore, has been officially forwarded to the Haryana government for settlement," Cheema said, criticising the previous governments for neglecting the state's interests within the BBMB. This comes a day after the BBMB made a payment of Rs.8.58 crore to the Union ministry of home affairs for Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deployment at critical sites managed by BBMB, including Bhakra and Pong dams, power houses, and the downstream project regulating water supply to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The move came despite the Punjab Assembly unanimously passing a resolution against the CISF deployment on July 11. The deployment of CISF personnel is the latest bone of contention between the Centre and the AAP government in the backdrop of the water-sharing dispute between Punjab and Haryana. The Punjab government had deployed additional police force at the Nangal dam following the BBMB's decision to release an additional 4,500 cusecs of water for Haryana following a request from the state. BBMB has since been seeking CISF deployment at the dam. The pending payment was discovered during an internal audit conducted by the government, Cheema said. The finance minister said that a thorough reconciliation process, conducted by relevant Punjab officials, confirmed the outstanding amounts. "This includes Rs.103.92 crore due to the XEN BML Canal Division, Patiala, and Rs.9.32 crore for the Mansa Canal Division, Jawaharke, all pertaining to the reimbursement of actual expenditures incurred on the operation and maintenance of common carrier channels of the Bhakra Systems", said Cheema. The finance minister said the state will seek legal opinion on the issue of the BBMB paying the Centre for CISF deployment at the Bhakra-Nangal project. "Under a well-planned conspiracy, the Centre and the Haryana government were trying to snatch Punjab's waters through such tactics. We will not let the CISF be deployed, nor will we bear any expenditure arising out of the deployment...We will seek a legal opinion over the matter," he said, asserting that the Punjab Police has been providing security at the dams for the last 70 years with no untoward incident. Cheema reiterated that the Punjab House has unanimously passed a resolution opposing the move and the state government is resolute in safeguarding the state's interests. Earlier, the Punjab cabinet had withdrawn the consent to the CISF deployment at the dams in the state by the then Congress government in 2021....