The case dates back to 1996 when Haryana had filed an original suit against Punjab in the Supreme Court. The decision on the suit was delivered in favour of Haryana in 2002. File.
| Photo Credit: Akhilesh Kumar
The Supreme Court on Tuesday termed Punjab’s de-notification of land acquired for the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal an act of “high-handedness”.
A Bench headed by Justice BR Gavai reminded Punjab that the apex court, at an earlier instance in 2017, had ordered the State to maintain status quo regarding the land and properties associated with the canal project. At the time, a water-starved Haryana had rushed to the apex court after Punjab decided to de-notify project land and give them back to farmers.
The top court had also appointed the Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of Punjab and the Director General of Punjab Police as Receivers to report on the ground situation as far as the lands and properties acquired for the canal project was concerned.
A Constitution Bench had, in 2016, set aside the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004 which had “unilaterally” terminated the 1981 water-sharing pact between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The SYL canal had been a product of the 1981 agreement. The agreement was meant to re-allocate the waters of Ravi and Beas in “overall national interest and for optimum utilisation of the waters”.
On Tuesday, the apex court urged Punjab and Haryana to cooperate with the Centre to find an amicable solution to their mutual dispute over water-sharing and construction of the canal.
The court said the case would be listed again on August 13 if the States and the Centre were not able to find a solution.
The Bench further clarified that its status quo order on acquired land had pertained to the construction of the main 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 cleared the air.
The case dates back to 1996 when Haryana had filed an original suit against Punjab in the Supreme Court. The decision on the suit was delivered in favour of Haryana in 2002.
The original suit was filed by Haryana against Punjab in 1996. The Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Haryana in 2002, directing Punjab to complete its portion of the SYL canal in a year. Two years later, in 2004, the apex court had reiterated the ruling and had ordered the formation of a central agency to “take control” of Punjab’s work on the canal.
Published – May 06, 2025 02:07 pm IST