Punjab to raise claim on Chandigarh as its exclusive capital at North Zone Council meeting, CM Mann likely to attend

However, sources in the Punjab Government said that the issue would be taken up this time at all costs. “The government had written to the Ministry of External Affairs to include it in the agenda. However, the copy of the agenda received by us states that the issue is deemed to be resolved. I am yet to check if there is any change in it. I will be able to take it up again tomorrow. The Centre should be careful now after the Panjab University fiasco. It is too hot an issue to handle. Such issues cannot be resolved bilaterally. What is the North Zone Council for if these items are not to be taken up? The state government is resolute that it will be taken up,” said a functionary of the government.

The government officer mentioned that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will most likely be attending the meeting. “If a state’s CM is sitting in the meeting and raising the issue vociferously, how can anyone deny. CM’s plan to attend the meeting is not finalised yet. If it is finalised, then he will certainly raise it. It does not matter if it is not on the agenda,” he said

CM Mann had not attended the meeting last year.

“The issue comes up in every NZC meeting. Most of the agendas in the NZC meeting are only taken forward in the next meeting. “There is actually no resolution,” said an officer who has been attending the NZC meetings every year for over a decade.

The meeting is attended by chief secretaries and administrative secretaries from Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Ladakh.

“What is the point if 100 officials from six states and the Centre gather at the meeting, spend crores from the exchequer, and the issues do not get resolved. The representatives of the Centre keep asking us to resolve the issues bilaterally. What is the need for this meeting then?” he asked.

During last year’s meeting, 68 items were taken up for discussion, and Punjab and Haryana squabbled over several issues, including the contentious Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal project. A few issues were deferred, while others, such as SYL, were listed for the next meeting.

Punjab had strongly opposed the SYL Canal project, saying that it did not have any water, as was evident from the groundwater report. The state also demanded that Punjab be given a share of water from the Yamuna, which was opposed by Haryana.

3 issues related to Punjab likely to be taken up

Three issues related to Punjab, including the SYL project, sharing from the Yamuna waters, and the setting up of mini hydel plants on 27 slopes on the Bhakra Main Line, are on this year’s agenda.

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