Honour SC verdict, water share, construction are separate issues: Khattar

CHANDIGARH: Reiterating that completion of the Sutlej Yamuna link (SYL) canal by Punjab and availability of water were entirely different issues, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said that Punjab should build infrastructure capacity to harness Ravi-beas waters.

Khattar on Tuesday held a video meeting with his Punjab counterpart Captain Amarinder Singh to work out a solution for implementing the Supreme Court’s directions to Punjab to complete the remaining portion of the SYL canal.

Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had organised the meeting of the two chief ministers in New Delhi on the directions of the apex court.

“We are open for dialogue and discussion on the subject but with a clear stipulation and condition that construction of SYL canal must be completed as per decree of the Supreme Court at the earliest. Not doing so is gross injustice to the people of water deprived areas of Haryana,” Khattar said.

The CM said allocation of water between two states will have to be on a pro rata basis depending on current availability of water as provided in the 1981 agreement.

RAVI-BEAS WATERS FLOWING TO PAKISTAN

“There is clear evidence that surplus, un-channelized water from Ravi, Sutlej and Beas has been flowing to Pakistan for the last 10 years resulting in colossal national waste. In fact, the Central Water Commission (CWC) had quantified this flow from Ravi river at 0.58 million acre feet (MAF), advocating construction of a second Ravi Beas link at Dharamkot. Water also flows to Pakistan downstream of Ferozepur, especially during monsoon. Moreover, during the filling period that is from May 21 to September 20 practically there is no restriction on indent by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on drawl of waters from Bhakra reservoir. Such surplus water can be harnessed for drinking water starved areas of south Haryana and for ground water recharge instead of allowing it to flow to Pakistan,” Khattar said.

Quoting from the January 2002 apex court judgment, an official said that Parliament having referred the matters of dispute under paras 9.1 and 9.2 of the Rajiv-longowal accord pertaining to water share to a tribunal under inter-state water disputes Act and refraining from referring the dispute of construction of SYL canal contained in para 9.3 is indicative of the fact that construction of SYL canal has absolutely no connection with sharing of water between the states and as such is not a water dispute.

The CM said that redundancy is needed in every canal network to permit repair and maintenance of channels. The two main carriers of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej waters in Haryanabhakra Main Line (BML) and Narwana branch are more than 50 years old and run round the clock. These have considerably deteriorated and need maintenance, failing which a disaster can take place if there is a major breach. So, an alternative carrier in the form of SYL canal is the need of the hour.

Haryana which has a share of 3.5 million acre feet (MAF) in Ravi-beas waters gets about 1.62 MAF at present.

The apex court had in its January 15, 2002 and June 4, 2004 judgments ordered completion of the remaining portion of canal in Punjab territory. The Punjab assembly on July 12, 2004 enacted the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act annulling all inter-state agreements signed by Punjab relating to sharing of Ravi and Beas waters, including the December 1981 tripartite agreement signed by chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Answering a Presidential reference in the matter, a Constitution bench of the apex court had on November 10, 2016 set aside the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, a law which unilaterally terminated Punjab’s water sharing pact with Haryana.

THE HARYANA CM SAYS ALLOCATION OF WATER BETWEEN TWO STATES WILL HAVE TO BE ON A PRO RATA BASIS DEPENDING ON CURRENT AVAILABILITY OF WATER AS PROVIDED IN THE 1981 AGREEMENT