After decades of impasse, Punjab and Haryana Chief Ministers will come face-to-face once again on Tuesday to discuss the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue — a bone of conflict between the two neighbouring states.
The meeting, aimed at arriving at some consensus over the issue, was convened by the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday (January 4). Besides the Union Minister, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar, team of officials from the two states and Centre is also expected to be a part of the meeting.
Notably, the Supreme Court had lashed out at both the warring states to sit together and resolve the issue. While Haryana has all along been demanding completion of the SYL canal, Punjab has been claiming that the state did not have a single drop to share.
The previous meeting between the two Chief Minister on October 15, 2022, at Haryana Niwas, was inconclusive with Mann declaring that Punjab does not have “a single drop of water to share” while Khattar asserted that it was his “final meeting” over the issue.
Punjab Government is preparing a strong case to support his stand on the issue before the Union Minister, backing it with figures. Punjab has been seeking a fresh tribunal for reassessment of water availability arguing that the quantum of water flowing through Ravi and Beas rivers had come down considerably.
Mann had argued that Punjab gets 4.22 MAF water from Ravi and Beas, while Haryana receives 3.50 MAF water; and Punjab gets 8.02 MAF while Haryana receives 4.33 MAF water from Sutlej. He had also argued that Punjab does not get any water from Yamuna while Haryana gets 4.65 MAF and it also gets 1.62 MAF water from the Sharda-Yamuna link. “In all, Punjab gets 12.24 MAF water while Haryana gets 14.10 MAF water,” he had said.
Seeking its share of 3.5 million acre feet (MAF) water by completing the canal, Haryana has been demanding that the state of Punjab should comply with the Supreme Court’s orders in 2002 and 2004 wherein it had directed to complete the canal. As of now, Haryana is getting 1.62 MAF of the Ravi-Beas water.
SYL project envisaged a 214-km canal, of which 122 km was to be in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana.
Haryana has completed its construction in its territory, while Punjab shelved the construction, it started in 1982, following widespread protests.
Cong Asks Mann to Strongly Present Punjab's Case
Senior Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday urged Mann to robustly defend Punjab's rights on river waters in the meeting. “Instead of making absurd statements, Mann should put forward Punjab's case on SYL canal with strong legal arguments,” he said.
Bajwa said that in the previous meeting between the two CMs, Mann had said that Punjab does not have a single drop of water to share. “It was a very feeble argument, whether he presented it aggressively. With this statement, does he mean that Punjab should share water if it had surplus water?” he asked.
Punjab's opposition leader said that Mann should establish a legal right of Punjab on river water as per the riparian laws. Mann should use this opportunity to rectify the previous mistakes and firmly present this case.
He added that in a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in July 2022, AAP Government's Cabinet Ministers, Harjot Singh Bains and Harpal Singh Cheema, demanded a new tribunal for assessing the state’s river water. “Such statements dilute Punjab's rights,” he added.
CM Must Refuse to Take Part in Meeting: Sukhbir
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday warned Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann against attending the meeting called by the Center. “As leader of the party that has led historic Morchas to protect Punjab’s lifeline, I warn you not to enter into any negotiations aimed at giving our river waters to any state in violation of the nationally and internationally accepted Riparian Principle,” he said.
Accusing Mann of not acting as “a custodian of Punjab and Punjabis’ critical rights but functioning only as a facilitator of Arvind Kejriwal’s electoral interests in Haryana and other states”, Sukhbir said that any meeting convened to discuss the sharing of Punjab’s river waters is in itself a gross violation of the Riparian Principle.
“Punjab Chief Minister must refuse to take part in it. If he does that, SAD will back him on this issue. His participation in any such meeting would in itself amount to abandoning Punjab’s just and constitutionally valid position on its river waters. Participation would completely destroy Punjab’s case and compromise its total and inalienable right over river waters,” said Sukhbir.