Arvind Kejriwal government withdraws support to Haryana Sutlej Yamuna link canal

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Monday withdrew a controversial affidavit backing Haryana’s claim to the waters of the Sutlej Yamuna link canal, possibly keeping its likely ramifications on the Aam Aadmi Party’s performance in the Punjab assembly elections next year. The Parkash Singh Badal government in Punjab had sharply criticised the Delhi government for its double speak on the issue.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had come in for sharp criticism from his political rivals for telling voters in Punjab that the state didn’t have a drop of water to share with Haryana while his government said exactly the opposite in the top court which is dealing with the issue.

The state government had at the last hearing blamed Delhi Jal Board’s lawyer for the mistake of stating that all states have a claim on river waters and had him removed. Haryana is not a riparian state but is entitled to a share in the Sutlej river water through the much-delayed Sutlej Yamuna link (SYL) canal.

Delhi will get some part of the water. This would necessitate the Delhi government backing the Haryana government, but that may now happen only after the Punjab elections scheduled for May 2017. Punjab government, aware of the pitfalls of sharing water in a pre-election year, had brought in a state law to reverse a court ruling directing it to share river water with Haryana.

At the first hearing of the case in a decade, the top court had directed all sides to maintain status quo on the link and had asked the central and the Punjab governments to ensure this.

Haryana is claiming right to the water as part of the state reorganisation in 1966. But Punjab claims that the water flow has changed since then and wants the project scrapped. Through senior lawyers Ram Jethmalani and Rajeev Dhavan, Punjab has told the court that the water sharing award by the Eradi panel was not final as a challenge to it was still pending in the top court.

The Punjab law intends to take back some 5,000 acres, acquired for a 22-km stretch, and hand it back to the state, but is yet to receive gubernatorial assent. More than Rs 800 crore has already been spent on the project. Haryana said 90% of the work on its side is complete.