With the meeting between Punjab and Haryana on the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue failing to yield any positive result, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today batted for bilateral cooperation between the neighbouring states on “non-SYL issues”. Emerging from a meeting on the SYL issue chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat here, Khattar asserted that a joint committee of Punjab and Haryana should be put in place to address various non-controversial issues, including water management, crop diversification and adoption of direct seeding of rice (DSR) technology to conserve water.
“A committee focused on the SYL issue chaired by the Chief Secretaries of both states is already working. By broadening the scope of this existing committee, collaborative efforts can be undertaken to address broader water management concerns,” Khattar asserted.
Saying that Shekhawat expressed concern over the diminishing groundwater levels in both states, the Chief Minister reasoned that Punjab and Haryana were facing issues of over-exploitation of groundwater due to the widespread use of tubewells. “Water is a fundamental need of every state and obstructing the construction of the SYL is not the right approach to address these concerns.”
Khattar sought to pat his government on the back claiming that Shekhawat had acknowledged the strides made by the Haryana Government in implementing a micro-irrigation system. Haryana achieved 1,000 per cent increase in micro-irrigation with the Union Minister wanting Punjab to take a cue from Haryana on micro-irrigation management.
The Chief Minister highlighted the interlinking of rivers which was articulated by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Union Minister Shekhawat said the central government was making every possible effort to resolve the canal issue.
“…Today, in this context, I discussed with Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh to reach a consensus. Following instructions of the Supreme Court, the Centre is fulfilling the responsibility of mediator with full devotion. Under this, this was the third meeting,” Shekhawat posted on his official ‘X’ handle.
The Union Minister, however, did not give details of the meeting.
On a separate meeting with Khattar, he said: “A positive discussion was held with the Haryana Government regarding providing drinking and irrigation water to Rajasthan from Hathnikund. It was decided that a special project should be made so that Rajasthan gets its share of water without harming the public interest of Haryana.” Shekhawat also expressed his gratitude to Khattar for his “sensitive cooperation” in this regard.
