SYL Canal: Water Minister Calls Meeting Of Haryana, Punjab Chief Ministers

Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has called a meeting of chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab on December 28 to discuss the issue of Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said today.

Besides chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, officials from both the states will also be attending the meeting in Chandigarh, Mr Khattar further said.

"SYL is a serious issue. Union Minister Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has called a meeting on the SYL issue on December 28 in Chandigarh. The chief ministers of both the states and Jal Shakti minister will be participating in it," Mr Khattar told reporters.

The date of the meeting was decided on Wednesday, he said.

The SYL canal issue has been a bone of contention between Punjab and Haryana for the past several years.

The canal was conceptualised for effective sharing of water between the two states from the Ravi and the Beas rivers. The project envisages a 214-kilometre canal, of which a 122-kilometre stretch is to be constructed in Punjab and the remaining 92 kilometres in Haryana.

Replying to a question, Mr Khattar said that the Haryana government wants the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict on the construction of SYL canal.

The top court had on October 4 asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab which it was allocated for the construction of part of the SYL canal and make an estimate of the extent of construction carried out there.

Haryana has completed the project in its territory but Punjab, which launched the work in 1982, shelved it.