SYL row: Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to meet Punjab, Haryana CMs today

Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had conducted a second round of discussions on January 4, 2023, during which both CMs Manohar Lal Khattar and Bhagwant Mann were present.

The chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab, Manohar Lal Khattar and Bhagwant Mann respectively, will meet on Thursday to resolve the issues hindering the construction of the contentious SutlejYamuna Link (SYL) Canal.

Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had conducted a second round of discussions on January 4, 2023, during which both CMs Manohar Lal Khattar and Bhagwant Mann were present. (ANI)

The meeting, to be held at Chandigarh, will be presided over by Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

The meeting has been convened by the Union government following the October 4 hearing of the Supreme Court.The apex court in its October 4 order had said that they were concerned with the execution of a decree for construction of the SYL Canal in the Punjab portion as Haryana had already constructed the canal. The next hearing of the case is scheduled in January 2024.

No drop to spare: Punjab

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has categorically stated that the state has no surplus water to share and it needs more water for irrigation purposes. It seems that despite the October 4 observations of the Supreme Court that it had already been settled that the execution (of decree to complete the construction of canal) does not deal with the allocation of water, Punjab will stick to its stand on lack of availability of water.

“We had met earlier also. I will go to the meeting. We will meet and sit…we met earlier also. We will see if the Centre has any new offer of finding a solution,” Mann had told reporters in Hoshiarpur.

“Once again, our stand will remain that Punjab has no surplus water. SYL is not possible,” said a Punjab official dealing with the SYL issue.

Implement SC orders: Haryana to Punjab

Haryana officials said that the stance of the state is very clear. “The construction of SYL canal is in no way linked to the quantum of water available to the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The orders of the apex court should be implemented,” said a top aide of Haryana chief minister.

The SYL canal spans 214 km, with Punjab accounting for 122 km and Haryana 92 km.

While the Haryana government has been pressing for the implementation of Supreme Court’s (SC) January 15, 2002, and June 4, 2004, orders to complete the remaining portion of SYL Canal by Punjab, the latter has been delaying the implementation citing lack of availability of water.

The last bilateral meeting between the two states was held on October 14, 2022. Union jal shakti minister had conducted a second round of discussions on January 4, 2023, during which both Manohar Lal Khattar and Bhagwant Mann were present. All the meetings held for resolving the issue have remained inconclusive, primarily due to the indifference of Punjab government. In fact, after the January 4 meeting turned inconclusive, Mann had reiterated the state’s stand that it did not have a drop of water to share with Haryana. Khattar had said that the state government would apprise the apex court about Punjab’s reluctant attitude to complete the construction of the canal.

A three-member apex court bench had said “that Punjab endeavored to release the land to the farmers but action has been stayed by this court and receiver appointed. We would like the Union of India to survey the portion of the land of Punjab allocated for the project to ensure that the land is protected, as the Punjab government could not have released the land, their action having been stayed. In the meantime, the mediation process should be actively pursued by the central government.”

Referring to the October 4 orders of the apex court, the Haryana CM, while responding to an October 3 demi-official letter from Mann for holding a meeting on the contentious issue, wrote : “I am sure your officers would have briefed you that on the pleadings of your counsel on the quantum of availability of water, the SC has expressly noted that the execution does not deal with the allocation of water. Every citizen of Haryana is eagerly looking forward to early completion of construction of SYL canal in Punjab portion. I am ever willing to do anything whatsoever to realise this long-awaited dream of our people and our parched lands in southern Haryana. I am, therefore, willing to meet you to resolve any hurdle or issue that might come in the way of the construction of the canal.’’

Officials said according to the provision of Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, and a central government order of March 24, 1976, 3.5-million-acre feet (MAF) of water was allocated to Haryana out of the surplus water of Ravi-Beas. However due to non-completion of SYL canal, Haryana is using only 1.62 MAF of water. Punjab is illegally using about 1.9 MAF of water from Haryana’s share by not completing the SYL canal in it territory, officials said.

A Haryana government spokesperson on Wednesday said, “Due to Punjab’s inaction, Haryana is unable to get 1.88 million acre feet water from its share. This situation has rendered the irrigation capacity created to irrigate 10 lakh acres of land useless. Haryana also suffers a loss of 42 lakh tons of food grains every year. If the SYL canal had been constructed in 1983 as per the 1981 agreement, Haryana would have produced an additional 130 lakh tons of food grains and other cereals. This agricultural production would have had a total value of ₹19,500 crores at a rate of ₹15,000 per ton.’’

The spokesperson added that the unavailability of SYL water to the state was causing a significant decline in the groundwater level in southern Haryana. Due to the non-construction of the SYL canal, Haryana farmers are using expensive diesel and running tubewells with electricity for irrigation, incurring additional annual costs in the range of ₹100 to ₹150 crore, the spokesperson further added.