Supreme Court Urges Punjab and Haryana to Jointly Resolve SYL Canal Dispute

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) – The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard the SYL (Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal) canal dispute between Haryana and Punjab. The Supreme Court asked the states to cooperate with the Center to reach an amicable solution. The Supreme Court said that if a solution is not found, the bench will hear the matter on August 13. During the hearing, ASG on behalf of the Central Government said that the Jal Shakti Minister held a meeting and a committee has been formed to consider water sharing. The Chief Secretaries of both the states are the chairpersons of the committee and an additional affidavit has been filed in this matter on April 1, 2025.

On this, Haryana government's lawyer Shyam Dewan said that no solution is being reached through talks. As far as the construction of the canal is concerned, Haryana has completed the work in its area. An important issue is that water is not being released.

Advocate General Gurminder Singh of the Punjab government said that the decree was for additional water, but the canal is yet to be constructed. The issue of whether Haryana should get additional water or not is pending before the tribunal. Apart from this, ASG Aishwarya Bhati on behalf of the central government said that we had made efforts for mediation. On this, the Supreme Court said that it is stated in the affidavit that both have agreed to mediation. At the same time, Haryana's lawyer said that the Chief Minister of Punjab has officially said that we are not going to cooperate, so the talks have failed.

We have been trying since 2016, but nothing has happened. Actually, the water dispute between Haryana and Punjab is very old. The SYL dispute is related to the water-sharing agreement of 1981 after Haryana was separated from Punjab in 1966. There was a severe shortage of water for irrigating the fields in Haryana. After the intervention of the central government, a water treaty was signed between Punjab and Haryana regarding the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal.