NEW DELHI, July 9— With the Supreme Court’s August 13 deadline looming, the Centre on Wednesday initiated high-level talks between Punjab and Haryana to resolve the protracted Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute. Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil held a joint meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini at Shram Shakti Bhavan in the capital.
Senior officials from both states, including chief secretaries and water resource department representatives, were also present. The meeting marks a renewed push by the Centre to mediate a resolution in a case that has dragged on for decades and remains one of the most sensitive inter-state water-sharing issues in India.
“We are making every possible effort to find a way forward,” a Jal Shakti Ministry official said ahead of the meeting. The latest dialogue was set in motion after previous rounds of negotiation under then-minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat failed to yield a breakthrough.
In May, the Supreme Court had directed both states to cooperate with the Union government and urged the Jal Shakti Minister to take an active role in resolving the matter, rather than being a “mute spectator.”
The core of the dispute lies in the construction of the 214-km SYL canal, a project conceived after the 1981 water-sharing agreement between Punjab and Haryana. Of the total length, 122 km was to be built in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana. While Haryana completed its section, Punjab halted work in 1982 and has resisted resumption ever since.
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled in Haryana’s favour and directed Punjab to complete the canal. However, Punjab’s legislative assembly countered with a 2004 law terminating the 1981 agreement—a move invalidated by the apex court in 2016.
Despite the legal rulings, the deadlock has persisted. Punjab has consistently opposed canal construction, citing water scarcity. “Punjab doesn’t have even a single drop of water to share,” CM Bhagwant Mann reiterated after a similar meeting last year. He had also suggested renaming the canal from SYL to YSL, arguing that the Sutlej has been reduced to a “nullah” due to over-extraction and climate stress.
“Over 78 percent of our blocks are in the dark zone. Even our groundwater is vanishing. If Yamuna water can reach Shahdara, why can’t it be diverted to Rohtak instead of Punjab?” Mann had asked.
On the other hand, Haryana has demanded its rightful share under the original allocation. As per the Centre’s 1976 orders, Haryana was allotted 3.5 MAF (million acre feet) of surplus Ravi-Beas waters. Due to the incomplete canal, Haryana currently receives just 1.62 MAF. “Punjab is illegally using 1.9 MAF of Haryana’s share,” state government sources said.
This dispute finds its roots in the 1966 Punjab Reorganisation Act, which laid the groundwork for river water distribution following the carving out of Haryana. Punjab has since invoked the riparian principle, arguing that only river-basin states should have rights to the waters of Ravi and Beas—an argument consistently rejected by Haryana and the courts.
The Supreme Court has now made it clear that if no agreement is reached through Centre-led mediation, it will take up the matter again on August 13.
While Wednesday’s meeting concluded late evening, no official statement was issued by the Centre or either state. However, sources indicated that discussions would continue in the coming days in a bid to avoid a prolonged judicial confrontation.
