Election year: Parties garner around SYL

• The decades-long legal dispute between Punjab and Haryana on the sharing of river waters is back in the spotlight.
• This week, the Supreme Court resumed hearings on the validity of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act of 2004.

Punjab returns SYL canal fund of Rs 192 crore to Haryana
As per the decision of Punjab cabinet to return all funds received by the state from Haryana for the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, the Punjab government despatched a cheque of Rs 191.75 crore to Haryana government.
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, in a demi official letter to his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar, apprised him about the council of ministers’ decision to return the entire fund received by Punjab from Haryana for the SYL canal, a spokesperson of the CM’s office said.
“I am, therefore enclosing herewith a cheque bearing No’ 997640 for an amount of Rs 191.75 crore”, said the letter written by Badal to Haryana CM.

Farmers in villages of Patiala and Ropar districts have started taking possession of their land acquired for the construction of Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal, after the Punjab Assembly passed a bill providing for transfer of proprietary rights back to the land owners free of cost. Workers of the ruling SAD and the Congress were seen exhorting farmers and providing equipment to help them to level the land lying untilled for decades. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh also appealed to farmers to fill up the canal and level it at the earliest, saying, “This is the only way to prevent 9 lakh acres of fertile land in Malwa region from turning dry and barren.”
In an attempt to prevent its neighbouring States from getting a share in river waters flowing through Punjab, the State Assembly had passed a bill against the construction of the canal, a contentious issue with neighbouring Haryana. A Presidential Reference in this regard is pending in the Supreme Court.
Punjab Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki is yet to give his ascent to the Bill but farmers have already started demolishing the canal structure and filling the land.
At least 100 JCBs were deployed in Ropar and several others in Kiratpur Sahib and Morinda. While, Ropar Deputy Commissioner Karnesh Sharma appealed to the farmers not to take law into their hands and said the government had not issued any notification in this regard. Youth Akali Dal’s Malwa zone’s president Harpal Juneja, whose supporters arranged for equipment to level the land near the Rajpura-Banur road, said: “JCBs have been pressed into service to fill the SYL canal. The work will continue.”
Capt. Singh said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal should also join in as “it is the real chance for them to prove their loyalty and sincerity toward Punjab and Punjabis.” Alleging that the BJP-led Central government backstabbed Punjab by supporting Haryana and Mr. Badal failed to rise to the occasion, he said filling up the canal was the only way left with farmers to prevent 9 lakh acres in Malwa region from turning into a desert.