New Delhi: The progress report has been filed in response to the Supreme Court's order that directed the Central government to convene a meeting with the states of Punjab and Haryana and find an amicable solution to the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute. The Centre told the court that two meetings were conducted with the two states in October 2022 and January 2023 wherein the state of Punjab has said that the construction of the remaining SYL can not be carried out since there is no water to share.
"During the meeting, Punjab was of the view that water availability in the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers has reduced and there is no excess water for sharing with Haryana," read the report. "As there is no excess water in Beas and Sutlej rivers to be shared with Haryana, the need for the construction of SYL canal does not arise," read the report.
Punjab in the meeting pointed out that the construction can lead to law and order problems as "Punjab had already denotified the land acquired for the construction of SYL canal and returned to farmers".
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The Centre has told the court that Punjab also seeks to reopen the 1985 Punjab Memorandum of Settlement (Rajiv-Longowal Accord) on the sharing of river waters with other states. As per the accord's first clause Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan will continue to get water not less than what they were getting from Ravi Beas as on July 1, 1985. The second clause is regarding the share of Punjab and Haryana that will be decided by a Tribunal and the third clause is about the construction of the SYL canal.
Punjab wants the first two clauses settled before SYL construction is talked about, but Haryana has refused to discuss any aspect other than the construction of the canal. Punjab has also said that Punjab Termination Agreements Act, 2004, is in force according to which no additional water will be given to Haryana. Haryana has opposed this contention saying that SC has declared it unconstitutional in its advisory opinion.
The Centre said that despite its best efforts, no agreement could be reached between the states. "However, both states agreed to discuss a workable solution to the issue in future. The Ministry of Jal Shakti is making all efforts to bring the states together for an amicable solution," said the Centre in its report.
