Haryana to move SC against Punjab

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 3

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said the state government would file a fresh suit in the Supreme Court to declare the Termination of Agreements Act passed by the Punjab Assembly ‘null and void’ and also seek the early hearing of a Presidential reference on the issue. “We will urge the Supreme Court that Haryana should get its share of water through the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal,” Khattar said while addressing a press conference on the completion of his government’s 100 days in office. Khattar said the Supreme Court’s last year judgment on the Mullaperiyar Dam involving Kerala and Tamil Nadu would prove to be a shot in the arm for Haryana in getting ‘justice’ from the apex court.

Recently, after seeking legal opinion, the Khattar government has decided to move the Supreme Court to get its share of water.

After the reorganisation of erstwhile Punjab into Punjab and Haryana on November 1, 1966, a dispute arose between the two states over sharing waters of the Ravi and the Beas. The Government of India had allocated 3.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of the waters to Haryana in March 1976. To carry its share of surplus waters, Haryana suggested a link canal be constructed in the territories of the two states. Haryana started the construction of the SYL canal in 1976 and completed it in 1980. However, Punjab abruptly stopped work on the canal in July 1990.

On July 12, 2004, the Punjab Assembly passed the Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, annulling all inter-state agreements signed by Punjab on sharing the waters of the Ravi and the Beas.

On July 22, 2004, the Government of India sought the SC’s opinion on the validity of the Termination of Agreements Act through a Presidential reference under Section 143 of the Constitution. “We will also ask the apex court to expedite its decision on the Presidential reference,” Khattar said.

He refuted allegations that Haryana released its share of water to Delhi. “We did not give our share of water to Delhi. On the other hand, we have brought an effective change in the distribution of water supply by minimising water wastage to meet the requirements,” he said.