Central meet on SYL trips over adamant states

A tripartite meeting convened by the Centre here today to resolve differences between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan over the Sutlej-Yamuna l...

A tripartite meeting convened by the Centre here today to resolve differences between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan over the Sutlej-Yamuna link failed to resolve the stalemate as Punjab and Haryana refused to budge from their earlier stance and Rajasthan asked Punjab for its share of waters.

‘‘The meeting failed to cut ice as the contending parties stuck to their stands….But we will try to mediate the settlement more effectively,’’ Union Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethi, who had called the meeting, admitted at the end of the two-hour talks.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and his Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot represented their states while Haryana was represented by chief parliamentary secretary Rampal Majra. Sources said Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala, who is angry over Punjab’s reluctance to implement an order of the apex court on the issue, deliberately chose to stay away from the meeting.

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Sethi, it appears, asked Amarinder to abide by the order and complete the canal. The latter stuck to his stand that Punjab had been given an unfair deal on water distribution and it had no surplus water.

Amarinder made no bones about disagreements at the meeting. ‘‘We have agreed to disagree,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s a political consensus in Punjab against the SYL award to Haryana and under such a situation how can I even think of completing the SYL canal — it would be a meaningless exercise,’’ he said.

The apex court’s order favouring Haryana enjoined Punjab to complete the link by January 15, 2003, failing which the Centre should intervene and do the job.

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