CHANDIGARH: Reeling under the resources crunch, the Punjab Government is learned to have decided to disband the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal organization in case the Center fails to release funds for the salaries of the staff.
The state government is writing a letter to the Center to this effect, the draft of which has already been cleared by the Chief Minister, Beant Singh. The construction of this carrier channel which is to carry waters from the Punjab rivers to Haryana was suspected in July 1990 following the killing of the project chief engineering and a superintending engineer by the militants, An amount of about Rs, 500 crore has already been spent on this channel.
While the construction was suspended, the state government continued to maintain the establishment without any work. The Center stopped funds last year making it difficult for the Punjab Government to meet the establishment charges. The Punjab Government spent Rs. 12 crore as establishment charges in 199394 and another amount of Rs. 13 crore was paid to the contractors under arbitration, the work charged employees have not been paid salaries for the last five months. Already, the state government has transferred some staff to other organizations, including the Thein dam project. ‘The Punjab Government had earlier written to the center for the release of funds, However, the state government was asked about the program to complete the channel, Now the state government is writing to the center to disband the establishment, The SYL canal is one of the most sensitive political.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 4, 1994
