ROHTAK: Almost all the speakers at a seminar on the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal and the future of Haryana vehemently opposed the proposal of some central Congress leaders to refer the river water dispute between Haryana and Punjab to the Supreme Court. The Seminar was organized jointly by the Maharshi Dayanand University Students Union and the Haryana Yuva Jhanti Sena.

Speaking on the occasion the Haryana irrigation and Power Minister Mr. Shamsher Singh Surewala said that all the panels appointed so far on the river water issue had accepted that Haryana should get a share in Ravi-Beaswafers. The Eradi panel set up under the Indira award had been allocated 3.4 mal (million acre foot) of water to Haryana he stated.

He disclosed the 95 per cent of the work on Punjab part of the SYL Canal had been completed and it would not take more than six months to complete the remaining work if the construction was started again. He said that no construction activity on the canal had been undertaken after December 1990 because of political unrest in Punjab.

While criticizing those who provoked and misguided people over the river water issue in order to get votes the Revenue Minister Mr. Birender Singh said that the SYL was the lifeline for Haryan and pleaded for its early completion. He also suggested construction of dam over Ghaggar Markanda and Tangri rivers to tap the rain water and utilize it for irrigation purpose.

Talking about the land dispute between the two states Mr. Birender Singh said that during his tour of the state he found that the people were not much interested in Chandigarh he said what the people of Haryana wanted was the river water to irrigate their land he said that Punjab farmers were not opposed to the construction of the SYL canal but they wanted compensation for their land acquired for the purpose. The Punjab farmers also wanted a drain constructed all along the SYL canal to check seepage of water in Party Dr. Chaudbary in his analysis of the river water dispute Said that the center had deliberately complicated the water issue in order to divide the attention of the people of the two states from real issues. He saidthat the issue of river water had nothing to do with Chandigarh and it must be delinked to take Chandigarh.

The president of the Haryana Janata Dal Mr. Virender Singh said that political will was lacking for completing the SYL Canal The territorial and water issues should not be mixed up. Haryana must get its full share of river water as allocated by Eradi panel he asserted

Former minister Mr. Hira Nand Arya pleaded for merger of old Delhi and its villages into Haryana He wanted that Haryana should give up its claim over Abohar Fazilka and other Hindi-speaking territories of Punjab. Similar views were also expressed by Mr. Rizak Ram a former Irrigation and Power Minister of Haryana.

The secretary of the Haryana unit of the CPM Mr. Raghubir Singh Hooda said that he construction of the in dam be started immediately to stop flow of water of Pakistan. He said that Haryana must also press for its share in Yamuna water which was being used exclusively by Uttar Pradesh.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 24, 1992