The Punjab Pulse

Centre for Socio-Cultural Studies

Detailed background of SYL issue

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Advocate Lokesh Narang & Advocate Mena Tarnaich

 

  1. SYL (Sutluj – Yamuna Link) is a 214 kilometer long proposed irrigation Canal covering parts of the states of Punjab and Haryana
  2. Since its inception in 1980s the project has been a point of contention among the two states.
  3. At the time of reorganization of Punjab in 1966, the issue of sharing of river water between Haryana and Punjab emerged.
  4. Before the reorganization, out of 15.85 MAF of water of Rivers Ravi and Beas , the center had allocated 8 MAF to Rajasthan , 7.20 MAF to undivided Punjab ( which included PEPSU, Himachal Pradesh , Haryana ) , 0.65 MAF to Jammu and Kashmir. (MAF – Million Acre Feet )
  5. Punjab refused to share waters of Ravi and Beas with Haryana stating it was against the riparian principle.
  6. In March 1976 , when the Punjab reorganisation Act was implemented, the centre notified fresh allocations, providing 3.5 MAF to Haryana .
  7. Later, In 1981 , the water flowing down Beas and Ravi was revised and pegged at 17.17 MAF, out of which 4.22 MAF was allocated to Punjab, 3.5 to Haryana and 8.6 MAF to Rajasthan .
  8. To provide the allocated share of water to southern parts of Haryana a Canal linking the Sutlej with the Yamuna , cutting across the state, was planned . ( allocated share – 3.5 MAF ) .
  9. The construction of 214 km SYL was stared in April 1982, 122 km of which was to run thrugh Punjan and the rest through the Haryana.
  10. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 8th April 1982 laid down the foundation of SYL canal at ”Kapoori” [Patiala] .
  11. 92 km of canal was to be constructed in Haryana which is already constructed as it was quite happy to get water. But 122 km was to be constructed in Punjab is yet incomplete.
  12. As the foundation stone was laid, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)launched an agitation against the canal under the leadership of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal.
  13. In August 1982, the agitation was converted into a ”Dharam Yudh” and it took a violent turn , plunging the state into chaos.
  14. On 24- July 1985, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal signed the Punjab accord in New Delhi. One point of the accord was completion of the canal by August 1986.
  15. The construction resumed but the work had to be stopped when two senior engineers and 35 labourers working on the canal were shot dead.
  16. A decision was taken to rope in the border roads organization , but no progress was recorded.
  17. In 1996 Haryana filed a plea in the Supreme Court , seeking directions for Punjab to complete the canal .
  18. Supreme Court in January 2002 and June 2004, ordered the remaining portion of the canal to be completed through a central agency .
  19. In response of Supreme Court order, on 12 July 2004 Punjab Assembly passed The Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 , cancelling its water – sharing agreements . ( Congress was ruling Party ) .
  20. The President of India referred this BILL to the Supreme Court in the same year .
  21. In 2016 Supreme Court started the hearings into Presidential reference ( Aricle 143 ) to decide on the legality of the 2004 Act & declared that Punjab backed out of its promise to share the waters of rivers. Thus , the act was termed constitutionally invalid .
  22. In 2016, the Parkash Singh Badal led SAD Government in Punjab announced denotification of the land return of the land that was acquired for the SYL canal project and also said that the compensation amount will not be taken back from the farmers .
  23. The Punjab Government had also announced a financial aid of Rs 10,000 per acre as ”diesel expenses ” to farmers for levelling the canal project land already returned to them .
  24. Punjab feels it utilises its precious ground water resources to grow crops for the entire country and should not be forced to share its water as it faces desertification .
  25. On 18 March 2016 Supreme Court ordered status quo on the land meant for the construction of the canal .
  26. 10 November -2016 – the Supreme Court gave its opinion that Punjab government’s 2004 BILL which terminated river water agreements was illegal.
  27. 16 November 2016 – Punjab Legislative Assembly passed resolution demanding royalities for river water supplied to its riparian neighbour Haryana , Rajasthan and Delhi .
  28. Up to 20 November 2016 – All the denotified land was returned to the owners .
  29. 30 November 2016 -Supreme Court again passed the Status Quo order relating to land and appointed receivers .
  30. 22 February 2017 – Supreme Court made order that Government of Punjab has to abide its order on construction of SYL canal and it will pass a decree if Government of Punjab and Haryana fails to come to an agreement .
  31. If SYL is to be constructed again, the entire process of land acquisition will have to be started from scratch as the land has been given back to the farmers .
  32. The farmers would have to be divested of the land – if this is done , it would be a huge issue in the state already grappling with many other factors .
  33. Successive government of Punjab have taken the plea in the Supreme Court that there has been no adjudication or scientific assessments of river waters in the state till date.
  34. The availability of Ravi – Beas water has also come down from the estimated 17.17 MAF in 1981 to 13.38 MAF in 2013. A fresh tribunal will ascertain all this.
  35. Sharing of water with any other state is impossible as water in 79 % of area is over exploited.
  36. In the last hearing for the case in the Supreme Court the Advocate General of the ruling AAP government considerably weakened the case by saying that the government is ready to build the canal but the opposition parties and the farmer Unions are not allowing it to do so.
  37. On the basis of the statement made tby the advocate general, the Supreme Court has asked the centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab that was allocated for the construction of the Punjab part of SYL within 2 months.
  38. Haryana AAP leader Sushil Gupta in presence of AAP convenor Kejriwal has requested PM Narendra Modi Ji to intervene and help in resolving the Sutlej – Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute with Punjab in a public meeting.
  39. APP’s – Campaign Committee Chairman Ashok Tanwar – ” It is our Right . Want the SYL canal constructed and Haryana should get its legitimate share.”
  40. Haryana is already getting a fair share of its water from Punjab from the Indira Gandhi and the Bhakra Link Canal.
  41. Total water availability in Haryana is presently more that that in Punjab
  42.   Water from the SYL will not get new areas under cultivation, it will only add to the availability that is already quite high
  43. The SYL alignment is against the lie of the land, it is not a good project in terms of engineering and water management
  44. The optimum utilization of the Sharda-Yamuna canal project has to be seen in conjunction with SYL
  45. Hon’ble Supreme  Court needs to be requested to look at the matter from a feasibility aspect and not merely honouring of an agreement between the two states made four decades back. A separate PIL on this aspect could be filed with a plea to join the same with the original case.
  46. Many areas in Punjab may go dry after 2029 . Punjab fills the granaries of the country with wheat & paddy every year.

 


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