Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar earlier this week, on Tuesday (Feb 03) declared to file a petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking “implementation” of two of its judgments to pave the way for the completion of the controversial Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL). The SYL would further allocate Punjab’s river water to non-riparian Haryana.
File Photo of SYL Canal
Talking to the media on the occasion of his BJP government’s completion of 100 days in office, Hindutva activist and Haryana CM ML Khattar said Punjab had taken a one-sided decision in the matter and the Supreme Court order in the Cauvery water dispute issue had paved way for Haryana to secure construction of SYL canal.
He said the 2004 Presidential reference in the matter was still pending and the State government would now move the Supreme court for its early hearing.
What is SYL Canal Issue in Brief:
Satluj Yamuna Link canal is a controversial project aimed at looting Punjab’s river water. It may be recalled that Haryana is a non-riparian state with respect to Punjab rivers and therefore it was not eligible to get any share of water from the rivers of Punjab. But Indian state made various extra-legal and extra-constitutional arrangements to allocate Punjab’s river water to non-riparian states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
SYL canal, as the name suggest, would link Satluj to Yamuna, and give 34 LAF more water to Haryana. According to Punjab’s ex-chief engineer G. S. Dhillon Haryana is already getting 18 LAF (out of 34 LAF) by additional discharge by Bhakhra Bias Management Board (BBMB) in Bhakhra Canal.