Row over Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal escalates

The Haryana-Punjab row over sharing of the water if the Ravi-Beas rivers took a new turn on Monday with Haryana seeking the the Supreme Court intervention to stop the Punjab Assembly from enacting a new law for return of land acquired from farmers for the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal.

The festering row escalated on Monday with the Punjab Assembly passing a bill against construction of the contentious SYL canal, sparking an immediate adoption of a resolution by the Haryana Assembly condemning the neighbouring state’s move as “unconstitutional.” The legislatures of the two states are housed in the same complex in Chandigarh. Elections to the Punjab Assembly are due to be held in 2017.

As the two neighbouring states, ruled by the NDA partners BJP and Akali Dal, are locked in a bitter confrontation and passed the measures unanimously, the Centre told the Supreme Court it was not taking sides over the sharing of water through the SYL canal, which has been under dispute for over five decades. The canal was to carry Haryana’s share of the Ravi-Beas water.

In an attempt to prevent sharing of river water, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a bill against the construction of the SYL canal, providing transfer of proprietary rights back to the land owners free of cost.

Leader of House and chief minister Parkash Singh Badal moved the “Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal land (transfer of proprietary right) Bill” with the objective “to provide for transfer of proprietary rights to the land owners from whom the land was acquired by the state government for the construction of the SYL.”

Moving the bill, Mr Badal said, “The bill has been taken up on a priority basis as Punjab has no surplus water to share with other states.” He said that a water crisis existed in Punjab and “if a drop of water flows to the other states from the rivers of Punjab, it will be very dangerous for the state.”

“The SYL will never be constructed,” Mr Badal observed, adding that “the government will not take money back from the farmers whose land was acquired rather their land will be returned to them free of cost.”

The bill concerning the vexed issue of the construction of the SYL canal through which Punjab’s rivers water had to flow to Haryana was adopted by the Assembly in 15 minutes. Leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi backed the bill on behalf of his Congress party.

Within hours of the bill’s passage by the Punjab Assembly, the Haryana Assembly unanimously passed a resolution condemning it as “unilateral, unconstitutional and denying the authority of the Supreme Court, a step only to draw political mileage.”

The resolution moved by Haryana agriculture minister O.P. Dhankar requested the Centre to annul this illegal and unconstitutional action. CM M.L. Khattar said the action by Punjab was a step only to draw political mileage and urged the Centre to annul the “illegal and unconstitutional action.”