Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal

Why in news?

• Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the state would “burn” if Punjab is forced to share water with Haryana when the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal is completed.

About the Canal:

• Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal or SYL as it is popularly known, is an under-construction 214-kilometer long canal in India to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers.
• 122 km of the canal is to be in Punjab, and 92 km in Haryana.
•  It defines river water sharing between the states of Punjab and Haryana.

History:

• The creation of Haryana from the old (undivided) Punjab in 1966 threw up the problem of giving Haryana its share of river waters.
• Punjab was opposed to sharing waters of the Ravi and Beas with Haryana, citing riparian principles, and arguing that it had no water to spare.
• In March 1976, the Centre issued a notification allocating to Haryana nearly half of Punjab’s share in the Beas and Sutlej waters.
• To enable Haryana to use its share of the waters of the Sutlej and its tributary Beas, a canal linking the Sutlej with the Yamuna, cutting across the state, was planned.
• In 1981 a tripartite agreement between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan was signed allowing for the construction to begin in 1982.
• On July 24, 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Akali Dal president Harchand Singh Longowal signed the Punjab Accord, agreeing that a tribunal would verify the claims of both Punjab and Haryana on river waters
• But after that Akali Dal’s opposition and worsening law and order situation in Punjab disrupted construction despite many supreme court orders to implement the agreements.
• In 2004, the Punjab Assembly passed The Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, terminating its water-sharing agreements, and thus jeopardising the construction of SYL in Punjab.
• Recently Supreme Court passed a verdict regarding the controversy saying that Punjab state government’s law to terminate a water sharing agreement with other states as unconstitutional.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements regarding “Satluj Yamuna Link Canal”:
1.It will enable sharing of water between Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
2.Construction of the canal is yet to be completed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2 
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question