The Punjab Government has issued a final demand notice to Rajasthan, asking it to pay Rs 1.44 lakh crore towards cost and compensation for river water supplied to the state. The government warned that legal proceedings might be initiated if the dues were not cleared within 30 days.In a parallel move, Chief Secretary KAP Sinha has written to Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, seeking Rs 312.59 crore owed to Punjab for the operation and maintenance of common carrier channels in the Bhakra Canal system.In a letter to Rajasthan’s Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Water Resources, Punjab said the neighbouring state had ignored previous correspondence and failed to pay royalty on riverwater used between 1961 and 2025. Earlier reminders were sent on March 18 and May 4. Punjab’s claim is based on a water-sharing agreement signed at Shimla on September 4, 1920, between the rulers of Bikaner, Bahawalpur and Punjab. Rajasthan had paid royalty until the Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960. At that time, a cess of Rs 6.50 per acre per annum was imposed on Bikaner for the water supplied to it through the Punjab rivers.Punjab has now calculated dues at the current rate of Rs 141.20 per acre per annum, claiming royalty for an average of 10 million acre feet (MAF), along with 8 per cent interest. Meanwhile, Punjab has billed Haryana Rs 281.78 crore from the Bhakra Main Line Division, Patiala, and Rs 30.80 crore from the Mansa division. Haryana has not paid for canal maintenance since 2015-16. The Bhakra Canal allocation is 12,455 cusecs, of which Haryana has a share of 63 per cent (7,841 cusecs), Punjab 25 per cent (3,108 cusecs), Rajasthan 7 per cent, Delhi 4 per cent and Chandigarh 1 per cent.