The Supreme Court on Tuesday drew an assurance from the State of Punjab that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will meet his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar “within this month” to discuss the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal which has been languishing for two decades.
The court said the canal is meant to address water shortage. “Water is a natural resource and living beings must learn to share it, whether it be individuals, States or countries… There is a shortage. But if you look at it only from the point of view of the State, then somebody will look at it from the point of view of the city… Then what will happen? I know there are sensitive issues in the State (Punjab), but some calls have to be taken. In the larger interest of the country, you have to sit down and work it out. It cannot be left as a festering wound. Water is a natural wealth to be shared. How it has to be shared is a mechanism to be worked out. We expect parties to work out a way to share the national wealth,” Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, heading a three-judge Bench, addressed Punjab and Haryana.
The observations came after the Centre complained that Punjab had “refrained” from coming to the negotiating table to engage in talks with Haryana over the issue. The construction of Punjab’s portion of the canal had led to militant attacks in the 1980s. The issue had also been a political thorn for successive governments in Punjab, so much so that it led to the State’s unilateral enactment of the controversial Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act of 2004. This law was however struck down by a Constitution Bench in 2016, dashing the hopes of Punjab’s farmers to reclaim lands acquired for the SYL canal project.
“We are very keen to participate in the discussion. The Chief Minister will cooperate. This is the assurance of the new dispensation in the State,” Punjab’s counsel affirmed in the court on Tuesday.
The assurance from Punjab came after Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, for the Centre, placed on record a letter dated September 5 from the Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti. Mr. Venugopal, referring to the letter, said that “despite various endeavours, Punjab did not join the negotiating table”. Punjab’s abstention was despite its assurances to meet with the Haryana Chief Minister in an effort to resolve the canal dispute amicably.
On the other hand, Mr. Venugopal said, Haryana has been pressing for the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decree in 2002 to complete the construction of the SYL canal. The Centre had been previously assigned the role of an arbitrator between the two neighbouring States. The Ministry said the construction of the canal and other carrier channels ought to be completed even as discussions on water-sharing could continue for arriving at an agreement.
“The Attorney General rightly points out that the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana are required to meet. It is agreed by the Punjab and Haryana counsel that such a meeting will be held within this month itself, to be continued with further meetings required, be it of the Chief Ministers or senior bureaucrats,” the Supreme Court observed in the order.
The court said a negotiated settlement between the States is a matter of security concern, and affects the entire nation. If the States do not meet and resolve their issues, “other forces start to take root”.
Justice Kaul said countries are able to settle international boundary disputes. “Water rights among countries are resolved… Water is after all nature’s bounty,” the judge remarked.
The court listed the case after four months, on January 18, 2023.
