NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture has asked the Ministry of Water Resources to put additional efforts to convince the Punjab Government to, resume works on the SYL canal Project to complete it at the earliest possible without any further cost and time overruns.

It said that the Committee thinks that the Action Taken Reply and subsequent replies furnished by the Ministry in pursuance of its earlier recommendations are “vague, unconvincing and inadequate.”

The Committee noted that the stance taken by the Punjab Government that it would not be possible or desirable to resume work on the project unless interstate water disputes are settled amicably, was not tenable.

It said that it also failed to understand as to how the Ministry of Water Resources without getting any firm assurance from the Punjab Government to resume the constriction works at the SYL canal project, was making budgetary provisions for the last five years since July 1990.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 26, 1995