AAP first govt in Punjab history that agreed to share river waters: Channi

Channi said it was clear that the Punjab government had acknowledged that Haryana had a share. “It is clear now. It is written in the Supreme Court judgment. The government has agreed that the share of Haryana is ‘purportedly less and can be satisfied by other measures.’ This indicates that Punjab is willing to give water, but a lesser amount as the availability of water is less. It has agreed to give water to Haryana through other measures… Where is the water when Punjab itself is turning into a desert,” he asked.

The former chief minister said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had hit out at the Congress in the Vidhan Sabha saying that they allowed the SYL survey to take place. “Now the government is itself allowing the survey. They did not object to the survey at all as is said in the judgment.”

The apex court’s order read, “We are concerned with the execution of a decree for construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal in the Punjab portion as Haryana has already constructed the canal. The land was acquired and construction was commenced even in Punjab though there may be difference in estimates to what extent construction has already been completed in Punjab.”

It further read, “The State of Punjab endeavoured to release the land to the farmers, which action has been stayed by this Court and Receiver appointed. We would like the Union of India to survey the portion of the land of Punjab allocated for the project to ensure that the land is protected, as the Punjab Government could not have released the land, their action having been stayed.”

Refuting the comments, Malvinder Singh Kang, AAP’s chief spokesperson, said: “If he has any documents, he should give it to his party president to present these during the debate on November 1. This is why the Chief Minister has given a call for a debate so that everything come out in public. This is Channi’s own analysis of the SC order. What he is saying is not true. As far as we are concerned, we have said that Punjab has no water and there is no land left for SYL now.”