THE SYL CANAL SAGA: Why Punjab won't yield, and Haryana cannot let go, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute involves water sharing between Punjab and Haryana, with the Supreme Court actively hearing the 30-year-old case.
• Punjab invokes the riparian principle and cites severe groundwater depletion, arguing it has no surplus water to share.
• Haryana asserts its legal right based on the 1981 tripartite agreement and its status as a successor state of undivided Punjab.
• The Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, passed by Punjab to annul water-sharing pacts, was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2016.
• The Ravi-Beas Waters Tribunal, currently headed by Justice Vineet Saran, recently conducted a field inspection to re-verify water claims.

SYL Canal.jpg

Detailed Insights:

• The SYL canal was designed as a 214-km link, with 122 km in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana, to transfer surplus Ravi-Beas waters.
• Haryana completed its portion of the canal years ago and relies on Supreme Court rulings directing Punjab to complete its part.
• The 1981 tripartite agreement, brokered by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, reallocated 17.17 MAF (million acre feet) of Ravi-Beas waters.
• Work on the canal in Punjab was halted in 1990 due to militancy, which included the killing of engineers and labourers.
• Punjab's resistance is rooted in the fact that roughly 75-76% of its agricultural blocks are overexploited, leading to deep groundwater depletion.
• The Ravi-Beas Waters Tribunal was originally set up in 1986, commonly known as the Eradi Tribunal, to re-verify water claims.
• Haryana faces water stress in its southern and south-western districts, where the water table has significantly dipped.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Riparian Principle: A legal doctrine granting states or landowners through which a river flows primary rights to its waters.
• Million Acre Feet (MAF): A unit of volume used to measure large quantities of water, equivalent to one million acres covered to a depth of one foot.
• Tripartite Agreement: An agreement involving three parties, in this context, the central government and two or more states for water sharing.