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Khattar asks Kejriwal to share formula to resolve the SYL logjam
Chief minister Khattar says construction of SYL is necessary, tribunal will decide distribution of water
: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday asked his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to share formula to resolve the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) issue with chief minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing Punjab of being adamant on not resolving
the deadlock despite clear direction of the Supreme Court to construct the canal.
“Instead of discussing this pivotal issue, Punjab CM and his administrative wing repeatedly say that there is no water in the state,” said Khattar in Delhi, a day after Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat chaired a meeting in the national capital to resolve the deadlock over SYL canal.
The meeting in which both Haryana and Punjab chief ministers were present remained inconclusive. While Haryana government has been pressing for the implementation of Supreme Court’s (SC) 2002 and 2004 orders to complete the remaining portion of SYL canal by Punjab, the stated stand of the latter has been that there is not a drop of water available to share.
“Rather they (Punjab) are asking to discuss sharing of water whereas a separate tribunal has been set up for discussing issues related to water sharing. Distribution of water will be done according to the recommendation of the tribunal,” said Khattar.
Reacting to a statement of Delhi chief minister, Khattar said that if Kejriwal has any formula to resolve the SYL issue, he should share the same with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann. The Punjab CM, Khattar said, should share the formula with Haryana whenever the next meeting is held.
“..if not with us... then Arvind Kejriwal can also share the same formula with the Supreme Court,” said Khattar, reiterating that Delhi is getting its legitimate water share from Haryana as per Supreme Court’s orders.
Khattar said that meeting the drinking water needs of Delhi is the utmost priority of Haryana government. He said most of the water that Haryana supplies to Delhi is used for drinking purposes.
“Delhi is getting its complete water share from Haryana as per Supreme Court’s orders… there is no reason to reduce Delhi’s water share. The demand for water in Delhi and the NCR region will increase in future and if we get water from somewhere like Punjab or any other source, then only we will be able to meet the demand of Delhi in the coming times,” he said.
Haryana, Punjab govts passing time on SYL issue: Hooda
Responding to questions on the issue of SYL, Hooda said the governments of Punjab and Haryana are just passing time by holding meetings.
“The Supreme Court has already given its decision in favour of Haryana. Now it is the responsibility of the Union and the Haryana governments to implement it. Therefore, instead of holding meetings on this issue, action should be taken to implement it,” he said, while reviewing arrangements for the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Panipat.
