SC directs Punjab, Haryana to cooperate with Centre on SYL Canal row

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the governments of Punjab and Haryana to cooperate with the Centre to resolve the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal row.

A bench of justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih was informed by the Centre that it has already taken effective steps to resolve the issue amicably.

“We direct both the states to cooperate with the Union of India in arriving at an amicable solution,” the bench said.

The bench said it would hear the matter on August 13 if it is not resolved by then.

“We have made efforts for mediation, but the states have to walk the talk,” additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told the bench.

The SYL Canal was conceptualised for the effective allocation of water from the Ravi and Beas rivers. The project envisaged a 214-km canal, of which 122 km was to be constructed in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana.

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

The dispute between the two states has been lingering on for decades.

The top court had on January 15, 2002, ruled in favour of Haryana in a suit filed by it in 1996 and directed the Punjab government to construct its portion of the SYL Canal.