Jaipur, March 22 -- Days after Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann demanded Rs.1.44 lakh crore water royalty from Rajasthan, the latter's groundwater minister Suresh Rawat on Saturday said that Punjab has no legal right to levy such royalty. Speaking to reporters, Rawat said, "Punjab, neither has any legal right to demand a water royalty from Rajasthan nor has any right to stop the water supply. The tripartite pact, based on which they are demanding this royalty, was signed in 1920 by the British administrators for their own benefit. It has no value today." The minister added that the Punjab government has so far not even sent any formal letter demanding the amount. "Let them go to the court. Why would we take any step on our own in this matter? We will consult the legal experts once we receive any formal letter from them." He added: "The Bhakra Beas Management Board decides the amount of water that should be allocated to us from Punjab. The existing agreement between Rajasthan, Punjab, and the central government does not mention about any royalty in the sharing of water from Sutlej river. Which royalty are they talking about?" Rawat said that the Rajasthan government is prepared to fight this battle against the Punjab government. "The cost of a project is definitely shared when a state take water from another state. But there is no provision to pay royalty on water. This claim is neither legal nor aligned to the core essence of our constitution." Under the agreement signed in the 1920s between the state of Bikaner, the erstwhile Punjab, and the British administration, Rajasthan had agreed to pay for water on a per-acre basis. Punjab government had on Wednesday claimed that payments were made until 1960, but after the Indus Water Treaty, Rajasthan stopped paying despite continuously drawing 18,000 cusecs of water. Hence, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann demanded royalty from Rajasthan for water supplied for its irrigation and drinking water needs, claiming an outstanding amount of Rs.1.44 lakh crore. He said that the Rajasthan government owed this amount to Punjab for the water drawn through the Ferozepur feeder since 1960, for which, he said, not even a single paisa has been paid. Under the 1920 agreement signed during the British era with Bikaner, 18,000 cusecs of Punjab's water was supplied continuously till 1960, but this arrangement was not mentioned after the Indus Waters Treaty, Mann added, threatening to move the court against Rajasthan government over the matter....