TICKING BOMB FOR NEXT GOVT
FIRST TEST With SC saying canal has to be built, all eyes now on next hearing, days before poll results
CHANDIGARH: : The legal and political quarrel over construction of the SYL Canal is fast turning into a ticking bomb that will be the first test of the next Punjab government. By its telling observation during the hearing of the case on Wednesday that the canal has to be constructed, the SC has sent a loud and clear message to Punjab.
CHANDIGARH: Legal and political battles over construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal are fast turning into a ticking bomb that will be the first test of the next Punjab government.
By its telling observation during the hearing of the case on Wednesday that the canal (SYL) has to be constructed, the Supreme Court has sent a loud and clear message to Punjab. And the state seems to have run out of potent legal and legislative options to further delay or derail the project, by which it has to share waters from the Ravi and Beas with Haryana.
The ripples of the apex court’s stand have put the state administration in a tricky situation as Punjab is in a state of flux at least till March 11, when the assembly poll results will be out. Till then, the incumbent SAD-BJP regime has to deal with the situation.
But the worry of the state administration is that the top court, while declining to accept Punjab’s plea that there should be a “political solution”, posted the matter for March 2.
The state government mandarins are of the opinion that the court may pass an order on March 2, the fallout of which may require political handling. This was one of the reasons why the state wanted the hearing to be posted until after March 11, so that a new government is firmly in the saddle to tackle the matter politically, administratively and legally.
But the court’s observation, that “we are at a stage where the decree has to be executed”, points towards a likely order that will put the next government on the back foot.
The poll-bound Badal government had set the stage for a confrontation with the court when it denotified land acquired for the canal.
Punjab has already “returned” this land free of cost to the original owners through an executive order of the council of ministers.
BEHIND SC’S STANCE
This “ground-altering” move was widely seen as defiance of the apex court before the elections in the state. Is this the provocation behind the court’s tough talk?
The state assembly had even unanimously approved the Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill 2016 to return the land to original owners. But this move didn’t see the light of the day as the bill didn’t get assent of the governor.
Later, the cabinet issued the “executive decision”. This decision had come within a week of the court verdict invalidating the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004 that had unilaterally annulled all water-sharing pacts with neighbouring states. The 2004 act passed during the Capt Amarinder Singh-led regime (2002-07) of the Congress, which is now hoping to form the next government. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is also in fray, has found itself on sticky wicket on the SYL, as its convener Arvind Kejriwal is a native of Haryana and has changed stances on the canal confrontation.
DELAY TACTICS
Still, the options to “delay” the Supreme Court order are being explored. The thin thread that Punjab is holding now is that its suit in the SC — seeking directions to the Union government to set up a tribunal on water-sharing issues — is pending. Another plea is that water in its rivers has reduced. All eyes are on March 2 now, when the court will take up the issue, and on the court-craft that Punjab will devise.