SYL Canal: Supreme Court Slams Punjab's 'High-Handedness' Over 'Unilateral' Decision, Sets 13 August Deadline To Resolve

On Tuesday (6 May), the Supreme Court characterised Punjab's cancellation of land acquisition for the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal construction as an act of "high-handedness", while hearing a plea filed by Haryana against Punjab de-notifying the project land and returning it to the farmers.

A judicial bench led by Justice B R Gavai issued a reminder to Punjab, pointing out that the Supreme Court had previously, in 2017, commanded the state to preserve the status quo concerning the land and properties linked to the canal project, The Hindu reported.

The Supreme Court had also designated the Union Home Secretary, the Chief Secretary of Punjab, and the Director General of Punjab Police as Receivers. Their task was to provide updates on the current status of the lands and properties that were procured for the canal project.

In 2016, a Constitution Bench nullified the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act 2004, an act that had 'unilaterally' ended the 1981 water-sharing agreement between Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

This agreement, which resulted in the creation of the SYL canal, was originally designed to redistribute the waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers for the overall national benefit and the most efficient use of the waters.

If the states and the Centre cannot find a solution, the court has declared that the case will be revisited on 13 August.

The Bench additionally elucidated that its order maintaining the status quo on the seized land was specifically related to the building of the primary SYL canal.

“The dispute before the court is with regard to the main SYL canal. The dispute does not pertain to the internal network of the canal to be constructed by Punjab for distribution within Punjab. We, therefore, clarify that the status quo will apply only to land in Punjab required for construction of the main SYL canal so as to link it to the canal already constructed by Haryana,” the court said.

The lawsuit's origins can be traced back to 1996 when Haryana lodged a primary case against Punjab in the Supreme Court. In 2002, the court ruled in Haryana's favor on this case.