Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Tuesday slammed Arvind Kejriwal Government for withdrawing support to Haryana claim’s on Sutlej Yamuna link (SYl) canal.
A day before, AAP-led Delhi Government had withdrawn a controversial affidavit in Supreme Court backing Haryana’s claim to the waters of the SYl canal.
Talking to the mediapersons in New Delhi, the Chief Minister Manohar lal said that AAP’s U-turn on the SYl issue is politically motivated. It is unfortunate that the Delhi Government is changing its stand time and again, possibly to gain political benefits in upcoming polls in Punjab, said he.
The SYl issue has sparked a row between political parties and neighbouring Government of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had come in for sharp criticism from his political rivals for telling voters in Punjab that the state didn’t have a drop of water to share with Haryana while his government said exactly the opposite in the top court which is dealing with the issue.
The Parkash Singh Badal Government in Punjab had sharply criticised the Delhi Government for its double speak on the SYl issue.
Haryana is claiming right to the water as part of the state reorganisation in 1966. But Punjab claims that the water flow has changed since then and wants the project scrapped. More than `800 crore has already been spent on the project.
Notably, Punjab Assembly had passed a bill against the construction of SYl canal, providing transfer of proprietary rights back to the land owners free of cost, sparking an immediate reaction from Haryana which had condemned Punjab’s move as “unilateral” and “unconstitutional”.
The Punjab Satluj Yamuna link Canal land (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill, 2016 passed intends to take back some 5,000 acres, acquired for a 22-km stretch, and hand it back to the state, but is yet to receive gubernatorial assent. later, the Apex Court had stayed the bill.