Presenting Punjab stand before the Government of India on the issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that Punjab does not have even a drop of extra water to give to Haryana. After a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Chief Minister said that 78 percent of our 150 blocks are waterlogged due to depletion of ground water.
Have reached the dark zone. Because Punjab cannot give water to any other state.The Chief Minister further said that when this anti-Punjab agreement was made for this canal, then the state was getting 18.56 million acre feet (MAF) of water, which has now reduced to 12.63 MAF. He said that now Punjab does not have extra water to give to any other state. Bhagwant Mann further said that at present Haryana is getting 14.10 MAF water only from Sutlej, Yamuna and other rivers while Punjab is getting only 12.63 MAF water.
Advocating to change the name and proposal of the project, the Chief Minister said that instead of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, it should now be considered as Yamuna Sutlej Link (YSL) canal. He said that the water in Sutlej river is already over, due to which the question of giving even a drop does not arise.
Haryana is getting more water
Bhagwant Mann said that in view of this situation, Punjab should be given water from Ganga and Yamuna through Sutlej river. The Chief Minister said that this is the only concrete option which should be considered keeping in view the worrying situation of water scarcity in the state. He said that despite being a small state, Haryana is getting more water than Punjab and the sad thing is that more water is being sought at the cost of Punjab. In the context of this situation, Bhagwant Mann said that when the fields of our state are drying up without water, then how can water be given to Haryana.
Center is not giving money for canal infrastructure
The Chief Minister said that the central government has not given a single penny to the state for the rejuvenation of the canal infrastructure. Due to this the farmers are facing difficulties. Bhagwant Mann said that there are 14 lakh tubewells in the state which are extracting water continuously to meet the irrigation needs of the state and the state has also made the country self-sufficient from the grain side.
The Chief Minister said that it is surprising that due to the surplus water available with Haryana, this state is encouraging the cultivation of paddy crop in its districts. He said that on the other hand, Punjab, which is struggling to save water, is appealing to the farmers to adopt crops that consume less water. Bhagwant Mann said that although the farmers of Punjab made the country self-sufficient by producing record paddy, but for this the state put at stake the only precious natural resource in the form of water.
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