Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday agreed to continue discussions on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute through regular secretary-level talks, following the sixth round of talks between the two states.
The decision was taken during a meeting held in compliance with Supreme Court directions. While the nearly 30-minute meeting did not yield any immediate breakthrough, both sides agreed that senior officials would first examine the issue in detail before political-level talks resume.
Under the agreed framework, secretaries of the water resources departments of Punjab and Haryana will hold discussions once every 15 days and submit their findings to the respective chief ministers. The next hearing in the SYL case is scheduled in the Supreme Court on April 8.
After the meeting, both chief ministers said the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and expressed hope that the process would lead to meaningful outcomes. Mann said no state’s rights should be compromised and stressed that Punjab and Haryana should resolve the long-pending issue amicably. “Haryana is not our enemy but our brother,” he said, adding that Punjab wanted a peaceful and just resolution.
Responding to questions on the construction of the canal, Mann said the water-sharing issue must be resolved first. “Once the water issue is settled, the canal can also be built,” he said.
Saini echoed similar sentiments, saying the discussion was positive and that officer-level talks would help take the matter forward. Punjab water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal and Haryana irrigation minister Shruti Choudhry were also present at the meeting.
The 214-km-long SYL canal, of which 122 km falls in Punjab, has remained incomplete for decades. The Supreme Court had directed Punjab in 2002 to complete the canal as per earlier agreements. However, the Punjab Assembly annulled the 1981 water-sharing agreement in 2004, a move later struck down by the apex court in 2016.
