Just about a week before the Supreme Court hearing on the issue of Satluj-Yamuna link (SYl) canal, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pleading State's case for reassessment of water level and constitution of a tribunal for resolving the decades old contentious issue.
The development is significant as the meeting marks an attempt by the Chief Minister to seek the Prime Minister's intervention of resolving the dispute over water sharing with the neighboring Haryana governed by a BJP led Government.
The meeting is also significant as it indicates attempts to look for a solution before the Apex Court takes up the issue on March 28.
Available information suggest that Capt Amarinder will also raise the issue of depleting water level in the State, and the change in circumstances since the SYl issue was initially taken up.
Capt Amarinder is believed to have held detailed discussion on the issue with the Punjab Advocate General Atul Nanda.
"Capt Amarinder's main stand on the SYl would be to convince PM to let the matter be resolved on the State-level as the water level is depleting, and already State's farming community is under huge debt, and for their crop, they are using the ground water which is already running down…In short, Punjab has no water to spare," a senior government functionary told The Pioneer, requesting anonymity.
The Government official said that the Chief Minister would plead for the reassessment of water table, besides setting up of a tribunal.
In addition, the "change in circumstances" since the issue was taken up, would also be considered. "As Haryana was claiming its share from Satluj, Ravi and Beas, Punjab would also claim its water from Yamuna," added the official.
The Government has already planned to take a tough stand on the issue before the Supreme Court.
The Government is insisting that it has not a drop to spare. The Government has already made it clear that it was working on a "strategy", to resolve the issue.
The State Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh has been constantly taking up the issue with the officers concerned besides the state AG Nanda to put up Punjab's strong case on the next date of hearing in the Apex Court.
Going beyond the courts, the State Government is finding other ways and means to resolve the issue.
Capt Amarinder has already made clear his intention of resolving this issue for once and for all, while maintaining that the State would try to convince the Apex Court in the matter, while at the same time, blaming the previous SAD-BJP regime for its failure to plead the State's case effectively before the Supreme Court.
"Punjab has no water…the water table is receding…Yamuna was not taken into consideration…the change of circumstance is a ground…and keeping all this in view, we are formulating a strategy," Punjab A-G Atul Nanda had stated on Monday.
On the very first day, Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit made it clear that the Congress Government is "greatly concerned" over the contentious SYl canal issue, and its priority was to focus on developing a well-planned strategy on SYl to safeguard the State's
water rights".