Chandigarh, June 27: The Central Government has once again taken initiative to resolve the decades-old dispute between Punjab and Haryana over the water sharing of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has sent a letter to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asking them to hold a meeting soon on this issue.
According to sources, this discussion can take place in Delhi around July 10.
Union Water Power Minister C.R. Patil steps in
Let us tell you that Union Water Power Minister C.R. Patil has taken this initiative when the talks on this issue failed during the tenure of his predecessor minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Now the Center is trying to find a solution through mediation between the two states.
In May, the Supreme Court had asked for reconciliation
In May, the Supreme Court again directed Punjab and Haryana to cooperate with the Centre to resolve the matter. The Supreme Court had earlier appointed the Jal Shakti minister as the chief mediator in the matter and asked him to play an active role instead of remaining a mere ‘mute spectator’.
Patil confirmed that efforts are on to resolve the dispute. Patil said, ‘The Supreme Court has issued some orders in the matter and as per the directions of the Supreme Court, we will move forward towards resolving the SYL issue.
What is SYL dispute
SYL is in cold storage since 1982
The case pertains to the construction of the 214-km-long SYL canal, of which 122 km was to be built in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana. Haryana completed its part, while Punjab shelved the project in 1982. The case dates back to 1981, when the two states had reached an agreement on water sharing and it was decided to build the SYL canal for better water sharing.
SC has rejected the law of Punjab
In January 2002, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Haryana and asked Punjab to build the canal as per the terms of the agreement, but the Punjab Assembly passed a law in 2004 to abolish the 1981 agreement. This 2004 law of Punjab was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2016. Since then the case is stuck in the Supreme Court. Now the next hearing date is fixed on August 13.
The Supreme Court had reprimanded Punjab on the last date
During the hearing on this case on 6 May, Supreme Court Justice Gavai reprimanded the Punjab government and said, “If this is not arbitrariness, then what is it? After the order to build the canal was passed, the land acquired for its construction was de-notified?”
This is an attempt to disobey the court order. This is a clear case of arbitrariness. This should have helped the three states. Land was acquired for the project and then it was de-notified.
Haryana faces loss of Rs 19,500 crore
Haryana has suffered a loss of Rs 19,500 crore so far due to the non-construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL). Due to lack of irrigation water for 46 years, 10 lakh acres of agricultural land in South Haryana is on the verge of becoming barren. The most important thing is that due to lack of water, the state is also losing 42 lakh tonnes of food grains every year.
Former Chief Minister Manohar Lal had presented these figures during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi two years ago. The former CM had said that if SYL had been built in 1983 as per the 1981 agreement, Haryana could have produced 130 lakh tonnes of additional food grains and other cereals.