AMN
The Supreme Court has granted six weeks’ time to the Centre to explore the possibility of an amicable solution to the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal row between Punjab and Haryana.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was informed by Attorney General K K Venugopal that efforts were on to resolve the dispute between the two states and sought some more time.
The bench considered the statement of the Central government and fixed the matter for further hearing on November 8.
The controversial 1981 water-sharing agreement came into being after Haryana was carved out of Punjab in 1966. For effective allocation of water, the SYL canal link was conceptualised and both the states were required to construct their portions within their territories.
Haryana constructed the portion of SYL canal in its territory. However, Punjab, after the initial phase, stopped the work, leading to a spate of litigations.