SYL canal issue taking toll on state exchequer, Rs 23 crores spent on Court battle so far
Punjab News: Hanging in the fire for past several decades, the SYL issue has been hammering on the state exchequer, while the fight is yet to come to any conclusions in the court.
According to the details, the Punjab government has to pay Rs 23.29 crore as lawyers’ fees to fight the legal battle of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal in the Supreme Court in the last seven-and-a-half years. From January 1, 2016 to May 31, 2023, the amount of bills of only 13 lawyers has become Rs 23.29 crore. Most of the bills have been wired by the government while the rest are under process.
Most of the bills have been wired by the government while the rest are under process. The AAP government has paid Rs 1.21 crore during its tenure. During the previous Congress government, rs 6.28 crore has been paid to the lawyers who fought the SYL case. The rest of the payments have been made during the tenure of the Congress and Akali governments.
The special thing is that the three-year bill of Advocate General Atul Nanda, who was posted during the Captain government, was Rs 60.39 lakh, while the seven-month bill of Advocate General Vinod Ghai (now former) of the present government is Rs 41 lakh. In the last seven-and-a-half years, the highest fee has been paid Rs 5.16 crore to senior advocate R.S. Suri while senior advocate Ram Jeth Malani has been paid Rs 4.08 crore as fees.