Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of Punjab, declared today that at no cost would more water be shared with any other state.
He added that Gurminder Singh’s name has been approved by the state cabinet for the position of advocate general.
This was stated by Bhagwant Mann after presiding over a cabinet emergency meeting at his Chandigarh home.
The Sutlej-Yamuna-Link (SYL) canal problem was discussed by the council of ministers despite the lack of an official agenda for the meeting.
At the cabinet meeting, according to Bhagwant Mann, Gurminder Singh’s application for the position of AG was approved.
The chief minister wrote on X, “The SYL issue was also discussed at the meeting. Not even a single drop more water will be shared with any other state at any cost. Convening the state Assembly’s monsoon session soon was also discussed. Approval to several pro-people decisions was given.
The Supreme Court had ordered the Centre to survey the area of land in Punjab that had been designated for the building of a section of the SYL canal the day before the meeting.
On Wednesday, every major party in Punjab argued that the state lacked any more water that it could give to another state.
Political parties in Haryana, however, hailed the top court’s directives, claiming that the state’s residents have been waiting for SYL water for a long time.
The top court ordered the Centre to survey the area of land in Punjab that was designated for the building of a portion of the SYL canal and to evaluate the level of construction done there during the matter’s hearing on Wednesday.
The Centre was also urged by a bench presided over by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul to vigorously continue the mediation process in an effort to settle the long-running conflict between Punjab and Haryana over the canal’s development.
For efficient water distribution from the Ravi and Beas rivers, the SYL canal was conceptualised. The proposal called for building a 214-km canal, of which Punjab was to build a 122-km section and Haryana would build the remaining 92 km.
However, Punjab, which started the building work in 1982, put it on hold until Haryana finished the project in its jurisdiction.
