SYL Issue: Political Posturing and Missed Opportunities in Haryana–Punjab Water Dispute
Gustakhi Maaf Haryana-Pawan Kumar Bansal.
By our enlightened reader RN Malik
The SYL issue could have been solved easily in the past had all parties of Haryana tried to talk to their counterparts in Panjab simultaneously
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has blown hot and cold in the same breath in a statement that appeared in yesterday’s newspapers. On the one hand, he stated, “Haryana is our younger brother. Our Gurus have taught us to share our assets. It is very bad to usurp somebody’s share.” On the other hand, he maintained that Punjab does not have even a single drop of surplus water and that nearly 60 percent of the waters of Punjab’s rivers have already been allocated to non-riparian states.
In response, the Chief Minister of Haryana invoked the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji in an attempt to persuade Bhagwant Mann to soften his defiant stand. The issue has now been pushed into the familiar bureaucratic loop—meetings at the Secretary level, followed by reports to the respective Chief Secretaries, who will then brief their Chief Ministers. Thereafter, another round of meetings between the Chief Ministers is expected to take place to “resolve” the differences. Notably, no timeline has been fixed to conclude this endless process.
What is most surprising is why successive Chief Ministers of Haryana made no serious effort to harness the waters of the Yamuna River, which has been flowing into the sea in huge volumes every year for the past nearly 60 years. One can easily imagine the enormous loss suffered by the people of Haryana in terms of agricultural production and power generation due to the failure to construct dams and effectively utilize this water.
The SYL issue could have been resolved much earlier had the political parties in Haryana collectively engaged with their counterparts in Punjab in a sincere and coordinated manner. For instance, Chaudhary Devi Lal could have persuaded Badal Sahib through dialogue. Similarly, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji could have called leaders of the BJP from both states to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The same approach could have been adopted by the Congress leadership when it was in power.
Tailpiece:
Haryana should consider agreeing to 0.6 MAF of water instead of its claimed share of 1.7 MAF, provided this flow is released during the following five months: November, December, January, up to 15th February, May, and up to 15th June. This pragmatic approach could pave the way for a long-pending resolution to the SYL dispute.