Hold Cm-level talks to resolve SYL canal issue: SC to Punjab, Haryana

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Tuesday urged the states of Punjab and Haryana to hold talks at the chief ministeriallevel to arrive at an amicable settlement on the Sutlej-yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue.

A three-judge bench headed by justice Arun Mishra granted more time for attempting a compromise between the states after the central government through Attorney General KK Venugopal informed the court that no talks could be held between the two states after December 2019 due to the Covid-19 situation.

Earlier, officers at the chief secretary-level from the two states had met thrice in 2019 pursuant to a July 2019 order of the Supreme Court which had directed the chief ministers of both states to form a committee of officers to hold deliberations and work out a solution.

“We request the chief ministers of both the states to form a committee of officers and also to ensure that both of them deliberate with the intervention of the central government at the highest level and if possible to work out a solution,” the top court had directed in July 2019.

The committees comprising chief secretaries had met twice in August 2019 and once in December 2019 but it did not yield any results.

The case will be taken up again in the third week of August when the attorney general would apprise the court of progress made regarding the attempts at negotiated settlement of the long standing dispute.

The case has seen several rounds of protracted litigation dating back to 1996.

The case has its genesis in the 1981 water sharing agreement between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in which the three states agreed that the SYL canal project will be completed within two years.

THE CASE WILL BE TAKEN UP AGAIN IN THE THIRD WEEK OF AUGUST