SYL canal issue: Punjab CM Mann, Haryana CM Khattar hold meeting

PTI, Oct 14, 2022, 12:52 PM IST

Ameeting to discuss the contentious Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue is underway here Friday between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar.

The meeting, which is taking place at the Haryana Niwas here, was scheduled after the Supreme Court recently nudged them to meet and find an amicable solution.

The SYL canal has been a bone of contention between Punjab and Haryana for several decades. Punjab has been maintaining that the quantum of water flowing through Ravi and Beas rivers had come down considerably and therefore, it is seeking reassessment of the water volume.

Haryana has been seeking completion of the SYL canal to get its share of 3.5 million acre feet of the river waters and also that Punjab should comply with the 2002 and 2004 Supreme Court orders for the completion of the SYL canal for bringing its share of Ravi-Beas waters. Presently, it is getting 1.62 million acre feet (MAF) of Ravi-Beas waters.

Khattar had said his state has full right over the SYL waters, while Mann had said the state’s interests would be fully safeguarded in the meeting and the state government would forcefully put forward the point of view of Punjab on the issue.

The opposition parties in Punjab had asked Mann to stand firm on his ground on the SYL issue.

The Centre had on September 6 informed the Supreme Court that the Punjab government was ”not cooperating” in resolving the dispute.

Then Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, had told the bench that the apex court had in 2017 called for an amicable settlement and that it was trying to bring the two states on the same page through its Water Resources Ministry. ”Unfortunately, Punjab has not been cooperating,” the top law officer had said.

However, the counsel for Punjab had last month told a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul that the state government was very keen to resolve the issue amicably.

The Punjab Assembly in July 2004 had enacted the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, annulling all inter-state agreements signed by Punjab relating to sharing of Ravi and Beas waters.

However, a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, while answering the Presidential Reference on November 11, 2016, had held that the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004 was unconstitutional.