Chandigarh, October 14
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar failed to reach a consensus on the contentious Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue during a meeting held here today.
Though Khattar wanted to discuss the construction of the SYL in keeping with the Supreme Court's directions, the talks failed after Mann insisted on first taking up the issue of sharing of river waters. The Punjab CM reiterated that the state did not have a single drop of water to share.
Talking to the media after the nearly two-hour-long meeting, Khattar said, "We initiated the meeting following a directive of the Supreme Court last month asking the two states to amicably resolve the dispute in four months. The construction of the canal and sharing of waters are two separate issues".
On the other hand, Mann said Punjab would not construct the canal. "The land acquired for its construction has been restored to its owners. As it is, Haryana's share of water from different rivers is more than that of Punjab, Moreover, Haryana is not a riparian state of Ravi and Beas". Khattar maintained that the construction of the SYL canal had no link with the river water dispute between the two states. "At the meeting with the Punjab CM, there was no agreement on initiating the construction of the SYL. Punjab didn't accept our suggestions, nor did they have any solution to offer," he said.
After the failure of the talks, the Punjab Chief Minister said he was willing to accompany his Haryana counterpart to meet the Prime Minister for seeking a resolution on the sharing of river water between the two states. "Haryana should explore getting 1.68 million acre feet (MAF) water from the Sharda-Yamuna link canal rather than seeking water from the Ravi and the Beas. Punjab has no surplus water as our ground water is depleting rapidly. The share in river water was decided based on the flow calculated 100 years ago. Since then, the water in these rivers has depleted considerably," he said.
Declining holding of any more talks with Punjab, Khattar said he would meet Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to brief him about the meeting. "At this point, we are only insisting on the construction of the SYL, which is Haryana's lifeline. The sharing of river water is a separate issue and we will accept any decision given by any tribunal, commission or court of law," Khattar said, adding that the Supreme Court would be apprised of the meeting's outcome at the next hearing.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/Yupgb1n
No comments:
Post a Comment