Khattar, Mann to meet today to resolve SYL deadlock

The Haryana government is pressing for the implementation of the Supreme Court’s January 15, 2002, and June 4, 2004, orders to complete the remaining portion of the canal by Punjab

: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will meet on Friday here to hold talks to resolve the long-standing water dispute over the construction of Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.

Khattar, Mann to meet today to resolve SYL deadlock

The Haryana government is pressing for the implementation of the Supreme Court’s January 15, 2002, and June 4, 2004, orders to complete the remaining portion of the canal by Punjab. The last meeting between the chief ministers of the two states on the issue was held on August 18, 2020.

The Supreme Court had last month said that the issue in question is of execution of a decree of the apex court on the aspect of the construction of SYL canal which has been languishing for two decades.

“The endeavour of this court has been to arrive at a mediated settlement. That should not be taken as a license for an infinite period of time to lapse,” the apex court said in its September 6, 2022 order. The SC also granted four months’ time to submit a progress report.

Haryana has a share of 3.5-million-acre feet (MAF) in Ravi-Beas waters but gets about 1.62 MAF at present. The apex court’s 2002 and 2004 judgments had ordered completion of the remaining portion of the canal in Punjab territory.

The Punjab assembly on July 12, 2004 enacted the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, annulling all inter-state agreements signed by Punjab relating to sharing of Ravi and Beas waters, including the December 1981 tripartite agreement signed by chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Answering a presidential reference in the matter, a Constitution bench of the apex court had on November 10, 2016 set aside the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, a law which unilaterally terminated Punjab’s water sharing pact with Haryana.

While the Punjab government has sought a reassessment of the volume of river waters, the Haryana government is firm that its share of 3.5-million-acre feet (MAF) in the Ravi and Beas waters and the completion of the canal are non-negotiable.

An official spokesperson said that due to non-availability of this water, the groundwater level in southern Haryana is going down considerably.

“Due to non-construction of SYL, farmers of Haryana irrigate by using expensive diesel and running tube wells with electricity, which incurs an additional burden of ₹ 100 crore to ₹ 150 crore every year. Due to non-construction of SYL in Punjab region, the irrigation potential created to irrigate 10 lakh acres in Haryana is lying idle,” the spokesperson said. ENDS