Punjab will burn and the state’s water-sharing dispute with Haryana will transform into a national security problem if the Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal is completed, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warned the Centre on Tuesday at a virtual meeting, which was also attended by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
“You have to look at the issue from the national security perspective. If you decide to go ahead with SYL, Punjab will burn and it will become a national problem, with Haryana and Rajasthan also suffering the impact,” Mr Singh said at the meeting, which he described as “positive and cordial”.
The meeting was held on the directions of the Supreme Court, which had last month directed the Centre to mediate between the two states on the long-pending SYL issue to work out a solution.
The water-sharing dispute that dates back to 1966 when Punjab and Haryana states came into existence has been a point of contention between the two states for decades.
Punjab is not in a favour of sharing water with Haryana and has been demanding reassessment of the Ravi-Beas river waters’ volume while Haryana has been seeking completion of the SYL canal.
The construction of the canal had begun in 1982 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
