Final Working Agreement Relative to the Sirhind Canal Between Great Britain and Patiala, Jind and Nabha

Done in London, 12 August 1903

IV. Within two months after the lapse of the period mentioned in the preceding Article, each of the Parties shall be at liberty to furnish the Arbitrator with a counter-reply.

V. The Artbitrator shall have the right to ask for such explanations from the Parties as be may deem necessary, and shall decide any questions of procedure not foreseen by this Declaration and any incidental points which may arise.

VI. The costs of the arbitration, as fixed by the Arbitrator, shall be equally divided between the Parties.

VII. The Memorandum, and, as the case may be, the reply and the counter-reply of each Party, as well as any documents annexed to them, shall be printed, shall be in French, or accompanied by a French translation, and shall be delivered in duplicate to the Arbitrator and simultaneously to the other Party.

VIII. The Arbitrator may, for any cause deemed by him sufficient, allow an extension of time in regard to any of the matters mentioned in Articles II, III, and IV.

In faith of which the Undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed the present Declaration, and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.

Done in duplicate at London, the 12th August, 1903.
(L.S.) LANSDOWNE.
(L.S.) SOVERAL.

Details of superintendence, powers of local officers, and other mailers connected with the management of the main channels of the Patiala Branches, Sirhind Canal, and their connected works which require to be settled by the Punjab Government with the States concerned, subject in the conformation of the Supreme Government under Clause 27 of the Terms of Agreement of 1813 regarding the Sirhind Canal.

1. The Patiala Branches of the Sirhind Canal and their connected works will form one Executive charge hereinafter called the Patiala Division, Sirhind Canal, and the Establishment of the said Division will, as laid down in Clauses 25 of the Terms of Agreement, work entirely under the orders of the British Government.

2. The Division will comprise two Sub-Divisions, as under:-

1st Sub-Divisions

Miles
First Feeder 15
Katia Branch 97

Total

 112

 

2nd Sub-Divisions

Miles
Second and Third Feeders 25
Patiala Navigation Channel 7
Ghagger Branch 54
Choa Branch 25
Total 111

 

3. The Establishment to be employed in the Patiala Division will be of the strength shown in the appended Schedule, which is estimated to cost Rs. 3,175 (three thousand one hundred and seventy-five) per mensein at the average rates of salary adopted in the Schedules of Establishment for the Irrigation Department of the Punjab. The actual cost will vary with the grades of the Officers employed. Travelling allowances and contingent expenses will be an additional charge. The strength of the Establishment may be altered from time to time by the British Government in accordance with requirements, and the actual cost will be borne by the Signatory States in the proportions of their respective shares viz:

Percent
Patiala 83.6
Nabba 8.8
Jind 7.6

 

Further charges will also be made to the States on agreement of Direction and Leave and Pension Allowances which will be calculated in accordance with the general rules for the time being in force for regulating the distribution of such charges.

4. The limits within which the Establishment of the Patiala Division will work upon the Patiala Branches, are the boundaries of land taken up for the said Branches and their connected works. Within these limits the provisions of the Canal Act which may for the time being be in force in the Punjab, will be held to apply, and offenders against Canal regulations will be treated in accordance with the provisions of Clause 28 of the Terms of Agreement for the Sirhind Canal.

5. The Officers of the Patiala Division will also have power to enter on land outside the limits or boundaries of the Patiala Branches in case of any accident happening or being apprehended to any of the said Branches or their connected works, and to execute all works may in their opinion be necessary for the purpose of repairing or preventing such accident. Compensation will in every such case be tendered to the proprietors or occupiers of the said lands for all damages done to the same, and if such tender be not accepted, the master will be referred to the State which owes the said lands, in order that compensation may be awarded in accordance with Clause 7 of the Terms of Agreement for the Sirhind Canal.

6. The Officers of either of the Signatory States will in like manner have power to enter on lands outside the limits or boundaries of any Distributary owned by such States in case of any accident happening or being apprehended to the said Distributary, and to execute all works which may be necessary for the repair or prevention of such accident, whether the lands in question belong to the British Government or to any other Signatory State. Compensation will in every such case be tendered to the proprietors or occupiers of the said lands for all damages done to the same; and if such tender be not accepted, the matter shall be referred to the British Government or to the State concerned, as the case may be, for disposal in accordance with Article 7 of the Terms of Agreement.

7. In order to ensure the distribution of the available supply in proportion to the respective shares of the Signatory States, and to guard against breaches in the lower portions of the Branches which would result from the sudden closure of the upper Distributaries, the entire control of the supply entering the heads of the Patiala Branches will rest with the Officers of the Patiala Division, provided that the control of the supply entering the head of any Distributary may, with the approval of the Local Government, rest with the State to which the Distributary belongs, if it be known that the State possesses such an Establishment as will enable it to satisfactorily comply with the following indispensable conditions:

  1. The supply in the Distributary shall never exceed a certain maximum gauge which will be determined from time to time by the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division.
  2. During periods of insufficient supply the Distributary shall be closed completely and so as to avoid leakage at the head for such periods as may be prescribed by the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division.
  3. In the event of a breach in the Distributary or of a sudden cessation in the demand, the supply entering the head shall not be shut off to such an extent as may cause a rise of the supply on the Canal gauge next below the head of the Distributary in excess of the limit which may be from time to time prescribed by the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division. Should a further reduction of the supply be required, the person in charge of the regulation shall report at once to the nearest Canal subordinate, and await his instructions or a lowering of the supply.
  4. The person in charge of the regulation of the supply to a Distributary shall maintain a correct record of the gauges in the head reach of the Distributary and of the Canal gauges in the vicinity, when these are not recorded by a servant of the Executive EngineerÆs Establishment. Copies of the gauge registers shall be sent daily to the Executive Engineer, and the register shall be at all times available for the inspection of the Executive Engineer and his subordinate officers.

8. If the regulation of the supply entering a Distributary be not carried on in strict accordance with the conditions prescribed in the preceding article, the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, will at once report the matter to the State concerned, and if the State fail to notice his representation or to make satisfactory arrangements for more efficient regulation, the Executive Engineer shall resume the regulation of the supply to all the Distributaries owned by the State concerned, or to as many of them as he may consider necessary. In all such cases a report of the circumstances shall be made by the Executive Engineer to the Chief Engineer, through the Superintending Engineer of the Circle. The onlers of Chief Engineer shall be final, and in the event of the Executive EngineerÆs action being confirmed the control of the supply to the Distributaries concerned shall not be restored to the State without his permission.

9. The requirements of the State in each of their respective Distributaries will be communicated to the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, at suitable intervals in the form of a requisition or indent, stating the depths of water and corresponding supplies required at the head of each Distributary. If sufficient water be available, the Executive Engineer will pass into each Branch the full supply required to meet all indents in full. If the supply be insufficient, he will either reduce the supplies of depths asked for in each Branch, so as to give to each its proper share of the actual supply, or he will arrange to close or reduce the supply to one or more Branches for a suitable interval, and in rotation so as to run the others with the full supply indented for, or as near to the indent as may be practicable. The method to be adopted in the distribution of the supply between the Branches will depend on the exigencies of the irrigation and the wishes of the States concerned, which the Executive Engineer will consult as far as possible.

10. When the supply available is not sufficient to meet all indents in full, the Executive Engineer will scrutinize the indents submitted by each State, and when necessary will make such a reduction in the aggregate indent of either of them as may bring it within the limit of the established proportion of the available supply to which it is entitled, viz:

Percent
Patiala 83.6
Nabba 8.8
Jind 7.6

 

in the same manner as laid down in Clause 20 of the Terms of Agreement for the distribution of supplies between the British and Patiala Branches.

11. Reductions of indents under the preceding articles will not, as a rule, be made in the quantity of water applied for in particular Distributaries (except when these quantities will cause an excess of the maximum permissible gauge), but in the time during which the Distributaries shall be permitted to remain open. Thus if the aggregate indent of a State amount s to 200 cubic feet for a period of ten days and the supply available will allow 160 cubic feet only, the Distributaries may be run to the full extent of the indent for eight days, and closed during two. The Executive Engineer will determine and intimate to the States the necessary durations of such closures.

12. The distribution of the supply for each indent period must be settled on its own basis, and the fact of a State having indented for less than its full share in previous periods will not entitle it to more than its due share in any day of a period, it will not on this account be entitled to more than its share on any other day during the same period.

NOTE: This article relates only to cases in which a State has not taken on a particular day or for a particular period the full gauge allowed by the Executive Engineer. It will not affect the arrangement of closures ordered by the Executive Engineer, under which a State may be given less than its share for one day or period, and more than its share for a subsequent day or period.

13. The Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, will, as soon as possible after the receipt of an indent, inform the State concerned of the order passed thereon, and of the reasons for any modifications or reductions. In such orders the particular days or periods during which closures of particular Distributaries are to be enforced should be clearly stated.

14. The gauge registers for the heads of the several Distributaries will be held to give authoritative data for calculating the quantity supplied to them, subject however to such tests and verification as the Executive Engineer may deem necessary.

15. These gauge registers will be carefully maintained in bound books by the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, and will show for each day-

  1. The gauge indented for and that allowed by the Executive Engineer on the State indent, when the indent has been modified.
  2. The actual gauge readings in the Branch and in the Distributary immediately above and below the head of the Distributary and in all cases in which the heads have been supplied with gates and rack gearing, the actual height of the gate opening.
  3. The volume discharged.
  4. The reasons for the allowed indents not being complied with is full. At the close of each month the daily discharges will be totalled.

16. In another bound book the total discharges of the Distributaries for each month will be abstracted and compared with the total on daily discharges at the head of the Patiala Branch (First Feeder), and with the discharge in which each State would be entitled at the established proportion, after deducting for those in the Branches. For this purpose the Distributaries belonging to each State will be grouped together, and the aggregate of their discharges shown. Difference between the actual discharges and those calculated on the established proportions will be duly explained.

17. A copy of this monthly abstract will be sent by the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, to the Superintending Engineer of the Circle as soon as possible after the close of each month, and it will be the duty of the Superintending Engineer to scrutinize these returns carefully, and to satisfy himself that the principle of proportionate distribution is attended to by the Executive Engineer. The Executive Engineer will also send a copy to each of the Signatory States if requested to do so.

18. Complaints on the part of a Signatory State regarding the distribution of water will be addressed to the Superintending Engineer of the Circle and sent through the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, who in forwarding the complaint will attach his explanation to it. The Superintending Engineer will communicate his decision on the subject to the State and an appeal will be to the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab under Clause 43 of the Terms of Agreement.

19. The Officers of the Patiala Division will have power to observe discharges in the Distributaries of the Signatory States, and to do all things needful to ascertain the volumes of water passing into the said Distributaries. The States to whom the Distributaries belong will be bound to provide funds for the construction of discharge sites, gauges, and any other works which the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, may consider necessary for the actual measurement of the said discharges.

20. The Signatory States will be bound to make arrangements for the supply of labour for urgent works, delay in the execution of which would endanger the safety or efficiency of the Patiala Branches. The names of the villages which are to supply labour, the number of labourers to be supplied by each village, the names of the responsible persons, who shall be addressed when labour is required to be collected, the rate of wages, and other details will be settled by the States in communication with the Superintending Engineer of the Circle, and the arrangements will be such as will ensure the labour being promptly supplied on the requisition of the Executive Engineer of the Patiala Division, or of the Sub-Divisional Officers.

21. British villages commanded by the Distributaries of a Signatory State will be entitled to a share of the supply sufficient for the irrigation of the same percentage of the area commanded as may be allowed in other villages or the same Distributaries, subject to the following conditions:

  1. The regular payment of all charges for water supplied whether for irrigation or other purposes, subject to the conditions of Article 23 of this Convention.
  2. The due observance of such rules and regulations for the distribution of the supply, maintenance of watercourses, etc., as may be made by the State, and are in accordance with the Canal Act and Rules passed under it.
  3. Abstention from willful or malicious damage to the State Distributary or its connected works, or from interference with the officers or servants of the State in the discharge of their legitimate duties.
  4. The supply of a fair and reasonable number of labourers in the event of a breach of the banks of the Distributary or other accident within the boundaries of the villages concerned.

In the event of either of these conditions not being fully complied with, the State owning the Distributary may make a representation on the subject to the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, who will at once proceed to inquire into the matter and will pass such orders as may be appropriate. Cases of offenses under Section 70 of the Canal Act will be tried by the Executive Engineer in his capacity as a Canal Magistrate under that section.

In the event of a general or persistent disregard of the above conditions the State concerned may, alter communication with the Executive Engineer, reduce or withdraw the supply assigned to the village in question, provided that the supply shall not be reduced or withdrawn during the currency of a crop, and that no outlet shall be closed or removed for a longer period than one year or two harvests without the concurrence of the Local Government.

22. The Executive Engineer will be the medium for all communications on matters relating to the Canal between the States and the British villages irrigated from the Patiala Branches. The States will address him when they find reason to complain regarding the action of the villagers, and he will take such action as may appear necessary in each case, keeping the States informed of the final orders passed by him. Similarly, complaints on the part of the villagers will be addressed to him, and he will, after due investigation, send onto the States concerned cases which appear to require action on the part of the State; the final orders passed by the State in each case will be communicated to him.

23. The charges for water supplied to British villages from the Patiala Branches, whether for irrigation or for other purposes, are not to exceed the charges which are livable under the schedule of rates in force on the British and Signatory States. The Superintending Engineer of the Circle will supply each State with a schedule of the rates in force on the British Branches for irrigation from Canals and Escapes, and for supply of water for other purposes, and will communicate any alterations in the said schedule that may from time to time be sanctioned by the British Government.

24. The Executive Engineer, Patiala division, will be the sole Agent through whom the sums due from British villages irrigated from the Patiala Branches are to be recovered, and the States will refrain from attempting to collect money direct from the inhabitants of British villages except as provided in Article 26 of this Convention.

25. The procedure for the recovery of water-rates on account of irrigation it British villages from the Patiala Branches will be as follows:-

  1. If the measurements of the land irrigated are made by the officials of a Signatory State, it will be the duty of these officials to inform the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, of the dates on which the measurements will be made. The Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, will then give due information to the Deputy Commissioners of the Districts concerned, who will issue orders to the Lambardars and Patwaris to attend the measuring parties. On completion of the measurements the official of the State will hand over the "parchas" to the Lambardars for distribution to the villagers and make out the Demand Statements, which will be forwarded through the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, to the Deputy Commissioners of the Districts concerned, who will collect the revenue as assessed.
  2. The villagers may lodge any complaints within the prescribed period either with State officials or with the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, or with the Deputy Commissioner. The two latter officers will forward any objections so received to the State for due inquiry. If remissions be granted, the State officials will forward the usual Remission Statements, through the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, to the Deputy Commissioner, who will take the necessary action. The amount due as fees to Lambardars which shall equal 3 per cent, on the amount to be collected, will be shown on the "khataunis" which will be forwarded through the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, to the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner will, after making the necessary deductions on this account, remit the balance of the demand to the several States concerned.
    No retrenchment will be made by any Signatory State from the amounts due as fees to Lambardars on account of non-fulfillment of the conditions laid down in Rule 37, passed under Act VIII of 1873, but the State will duly report to the Deputy Commissioner, through the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, cases in which these conditions have not be complied with to its satisfaction, and the Deputy Commissioner will take such action as be may consider necessary, of which the States concerned will be duly informed.
  3. The Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, will, if requested to do so by a Signatory State, undertake to record and measure the irrigation in British villages from the Patiala Branches, subject to such conditions as regards payment by the State of the cost of the Establishment required and other matters as may be approved by the Punjab Government.
  4. The Punjab Government reserves to itself the right of deputing Patweris to attend the State measurements in British villages irrigated from the Patiala Branches, who will take a copy of the State Khasra or measurement paper, will make out the Demand Statements and prepare and distribute the "parchas." In this case the procedure prescribed in Clauses (a) and (b) will be so far modified that the State officials will not make out the "parchas" or the Demand Statements, but will merely forward to the Deputy Commissioner through the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, an abstract of the demand, or "Jamabandi" for each village, while in addition to the deduction for Lambardars fees of 3 per cent, on the amount to be collected, a further deduction of 2 per cent, will be made for the remuneration of the Patwaris employed.

26. Demand Statements for the recover of charges other than water rates from British villages irrigated form the Patiala Branches will be sent by the States to the Executive Engineer, Patiala Division, who after satisfying himself of their correctness, will forward them to the Deputy Commissioner of the District concerned for realization, provided that in cases in which the villagers do not dispute the claim, they shall be permitted to pay such demands to the officials of the State concerned. All amounts collected by the Deputy Commissioner on account of charges other than water-rates shall be remitted to the Signatory States connected in the same way as provided in the case of water-rates.

27. The Signatory States will, after the close of each year ending 31st March, forward through the Political Agent, Phulkian States, to the Superintending Engineer, Sirhind Canal, for inclusion in the annual Revenue Report of the canal, statistical returns showing the working of the Distributaries of the Patiala Branches, during the past year in the respective States.

The returns will be in such forms, will contain such information, and will be forwarded on such dates as may from time to time be prescribed by the Punjab Government. In like manner the Punjab Government will forward to the Signatory States similar returns and annual reports relating to the British Branches and Distributaries.

28. The foregoing stipulations will remain in force until modified or added to with the consent of the Punjab Government on the one part, and the Signatory States concerned on the other part. It will be open to the Punjab Government and to any one or more of the Signatory States to propose such modifications and additions as may from time to time be found desirable, provided that they shall be binding only on the assenting parties and shall not be prejudicial to the interests of any non-assenting Signatory State.

Schedule showing Establishment to be employed in the Patiala Division, Sirhind Canal, referred to in Article 3 of the Working Agreement of the Sirhind Canal between Imperial Government and the Signatory States.

RANK NUMBER
Executive Engineer 1
Sub-Engineers 2
Sub-Overseers 8
Accountant 1
Clerks 1
Draftsman 1
Hospital Assistants 3
Signallers 8
Mistri 1
Gauge Readers 4
Sowars 2
Duffadars 3
Barkandazes 10
Jamadaz 1
Peons 6
Watchmen 34
Dik Runners 36
Hospital Corlics 3
Bhistis 2
Sweepers 5

 

WITNESSES:
1. GOKAL CHAND,
Deputy Foreign Minister,
Patiala State. ABDUL MAJID KHAN, Col.

2. SUNDER SINGH (in Ver.),
Foreign Minster, Patiala State.
Assistant Foreign Minister.

WITNESSES
1. UMRAO BEO (in Ver.),
Ahalkar-i-Ala, Jind State. SHAMSHAR SINGH,
Ahalkar-i-Ala, Jind State.

2. NARAIN (in Ver.),
Ahalkar-i-Ala, Jind State.

WITNESSES

1. BISHAN SIKOH (in Ver.),
Canal Agent, Nabha State. PARABH DYAL.,
Foreign Minister, Nabha State.

2. SALIGEAM VARMA,
Deputy Foreign Minister,
Nabha State.

WITNESSES
J.E. KENTHACK,
Executive Engineer,
Public Works Department, Irrigation Branch, Punjab.
The 12th, August 1903.

J. BENTON,
Secretary to Government,
Punjab, Public Works Department, Irrigation Branch.
The 12th, August 1903.

R.P. RUSSELL
Under-Secretary to Government,
Punjab, Public Works Department, Irrigation Branch,
The 12th, August 1903.

APPROVED and confirmed by the Government of India.
By order,
LOUIS W. DAKE,
Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
FORT WILLIAM;
The 23rd February 1904