Chandigarh, October 14
Rejecting outright the Haryana Government’s proposal to start the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today said there was no question of initiating the work, as the state does not have even a single drop of water to share.
Previous govts to blame
The previous BJP-SAD and Congress governments are responsible for this conundrum as they deliberately lingered on the SYL issue for decades due to their vested political interests. Malvinder Singh Kang, State AAP Chief Spokesperson
“At the time when the agreement for the canal was inked, Punjab was getting 18.56 million acre feet (MAF) of water, which has been now reduced to 12.63 MAF. Haryana is currently getting 14.10 MAF of water from
the Sutlej, the Yamuna and other rivulets whereas Punjab is getting only 12.63 MAF. Despite being smaller in area, Haryana is getting more water than the state and
ironically, it is demanding more at the cost of Punjab,” Mann said, while addressing mediapersons after his meeting with Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar on the SYL construction.
The CM further said 1,400 km of rivers, canals and rivulets had dried up in the state due to which pressure had increased on the groundwater. “This has resulted in the depletion of groundwater level and most blocks have gone into dark zones.” Mann said in all water agreements across the globe, there’s a clause stating that the pact would be reviewed after 25 years in the wake of climate changes.
He, however, said the SYL agreement was the only exception in which no such clause had been mentioned. “This is gross injustice with Punjab. The then central and state governments were responsible for this sin,” he added.
Training his guns at the Congress and SAD, Mann said both the parties were partners in crime against Punjab. “These parties have connived with each other to hatch conspiracies against Punjab and Punjabis.”
Mann said as the then CM, Parkash Singh Badal, had allowed the survey of the canal to appease his friend and Haryana leader, Devi Lal.
Similarly, Mann said former CM Capt Amarinder Singh, who was an MP at that time, had welcomed the then Prime Minister for the ground-breaking ceremony of the SYL.
“They never wanted to resolve the issue, only kept it alive for seeking political mileage from it.”
The CM said for the first time since the inception of this controversial agreement, Punjab’s case had been solidly presented. “The state government will firmly safeguard the interests of the state and its people over the issue.”
