CHANDIGARH: Haryana has mounted fresh pressure on the Indian government to execute the controversial S.Y.L. canal through the army’s Border Roads Organization.
Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal publicly stated on Monday that he would resign his post if the S.Y.L. water did not reach Haryana “within one year”. He claimed that the Indian Prime Minister had given him an assurance that his demand would be accepted soon
Meanwhile according to reliable sources the new Punjab Governor has expressed the view to Delhi that the controversial canal issue should be left to be decided by a popular government in Punjab to be formed as a result of elections early next year
It is not known whether Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao has accepted the governor’s advice or has ruled it out. A top level meeting was held at Chandigarh between the Punjab Governor and his aides on the canal issue on Tuesday. Its deliberations were not made known to the public immediately.
According to reports C.P.(M) leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet has also started persuading the Prime Minister to refer the water dispute between Punjab and Haryana to the Indian Supreme Court. In the meanwhile the work on the S.Y.L. canal should be stopped. Surjeet has also pleaded with Rao to transfer Chandigarh immediately to Punjab to pave the way for anti-militant parties to join hands to contest the election to the Punjab Assembly.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 27, 1991
