Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday opposed diverting Jammu and Kashmir’s waters to Punjab and other neighbouring states now that the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan stands suspended, asking why they should get more water when they already have three rivers while parts of the Union Territory are facing an acute water shortage.

Omar was reacting to the purported central government move to conduct a feasibility study for constructing a 113km-long canal to direct the surplus flow from the three western rivers of the Indus water system — the Chenab, Jehlum and the Indus — to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Under the treaty, this excess water used to go to Pakistan.

Some media reports claim the Centre is planning to connect the Chenab with the Ravi-Beas-Sutlej system in the first phase.

Last week, some Delhi-based newspapers had quoted Union home minister Amit Shah as telling BJP lawmakers in Madhya Pradesh that the Indus’s waters would be taken to Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar through canals in three years and Pakistan would be left craving for every drop of water.

“Nobody will take it. At least I will not allow it as of now. First allow us to use our water, then we will talk about others. There is a drought-like situation in Jammu. There is no water in taps,” Omar told reporters.

“Why should I take water to Punjab? There are already three rivers with Punjab (and the other two states) under the Indus Waters Treaty. Did they give us water when we needed it?”

The chief minister said Jammu and Kashmir would use the water of the rivers flowing through its territory and then think about others.

Omar referred to Punjab’s purported refusal to share water during disputes over the Ujh multipurpose project and the Shahpur Kandi barrage in Jammu in the past. “We were in dire straits then but they kept us waiting for years…. After years, some work was done on the Shahpur Kandi barrage,” he said.

The chief minister said his government was working on the resumption of work on the Tulbul navigation lock, also called the Wullar barrage, that seeks to regulate the waters of the Jehlum at the exit of the Wullar lake to use it for navigation purposes and hydroelectric projects. The project was halted following Pakistan’s objections.

Omar’s fresh opposition came weeks after he favoured the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam attack, arguing it was discriminatory against Jammu and Kashmir.

Omar and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti even appeared to cast each other as traitors. Mehbooba had opposed the suspension of water flow to Pakistan.