The Supreme Court has directed the states of Punjab and Haryana and the Centre to find an amicable solution to the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue by September.

The apex court said the orders passed by it on the issue have to be “respected and executed”, and the governments of Punjab and Haryana have a duty to obey them.

The court also directed the two states to ensure that no agitation take place on the issue. Haryana has been witnessing protests over the SYL issue with the main Opposition INLD blocking roads and holding demonstrations.

“We request the chief ministers of both states to form a committee of officers and to ensure that both of them deliberate with the intervention of the central government at the highest level and if possible to work out a solution. We hope and trust that functionaries of both states will rise to the occasion to find out a solution, which is in the interest of all,” the apex court said, adding that if required, the court would hear the matter on merit.

The masterplan

The Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal running about 121 km in Punjab and 90 km in Haryana envisages conveying 3.45 million acre feet out of 3.5 million acre feet of Haryana’s average annual share of surplus Ravi-Beas waters (as per the 1981 agreement). It will irrigate an area of 4.46 lakh hectares in Haryana and also benefit Punjab in terms of irrigation to an area of 1.28 lakh hectares and in terms of power, a total of 50 MW of power generation at two power houses. Haryana’s portion of the canal is complete. Punjab’s portion of the canal was targeted for completion by March 1991, but remains incomplete till date.

How did the crisis evolve?

The controversial 1981 water-sharing agreement came into being after Haryana was carved out of Punjab in 1966. For effective allocation of water from Ravi and Beas rivers, the SYL canal link was conceptualised and both the states were required to construct their portions within their territories.

On April 8, 1982, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the construction of the 214-km SYL canal at Kapoori village in Patiala. But, Akalis launched an agitation in the form of Kapoori Morcha against the construction of the canal.

In 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Akali Dal chief Sant Harchand Singh Longowal signed an accord agreeing for a new tribunal to assess the water.

The Eradi tribunal headed by Supreme Court Justice V. Balakrishna Eradi in 1987 recommended an increase in the water share of Punjab and Haryana.

In less than a month after signing the accord, Longowal was killed by militants. In 1990, two officials - chief engineer M.L. Sekhri and superintendent engineer Avtar Singh Aulakh - were killed by militants.

In 2002 and again in June 2004, the Supreme Court directed Punjab to complete the work in its territory.

Within a month of the Supreme Court order, the Congress government in the state came out with the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act with an intention to terminate the 1981 agreement and all other pacts relating to sharing of waters of rivers Ravi and Beas.

The Supreme Court on November 10, 2016 termed the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004, as invalid. It ruled that Punjab’s law scrapping water-sharing agreements with Haryana and other states is unconstitutional.

What next?

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh hopes for an amicable solution to the SYL canal issue with Haryana after the apex court directed both states to form a panel of officers to look into it.

“The Supreme Court’s directive on the formation of a committee of officers by Punjab and Haryana will lead to a long-term, just and equitable solution to the vexed SYL problem in the backdrop of worsening water situation in the state,” he said in a statement.

The CM said Punjab had no problem in sharing water with anyone, if it had enough of the vital resource. Unfortunately, the water situation in the state was critical, with the groundwater depleting to shocking levels and threatening to transform Punjab into a desert, he added.

As per a government study, Punjab’s many areas may go dry after 2029. The state has already over-exploited its groundwater for irrigation purposes.

Haryana has been staking claim on Ravi-Beas waters through SYL canal on the plea that providing water for irrigation was a tough task for the state.