CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday met with his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, who pending for 60 years, after partition of 1966.
The first meeting of Chief Ministers Bhagwant Mann and Manohar Lal Khattar has begun on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (SYL) issue. This meeting is being held at Haryana Bhawan in Chandigarh.
Before the meeting of the Chief Ministers of both the states, there was a long brainstorming by the Punjab government yesterday. The meeting lasted for about 4 hours under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Water Resources Minister Bram Shankar Zimpa, Advocate General Vinod Ghai, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Venu Prasad, Principal Secretary Water Resources Department Krishna Kumar and other administrative officers of the department were present in this meeting.
In the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the strategy for the meeting with the Chief Minister of Haryana was prepared. The Punjab government had decided that they would stand firm on the issue of SYL in the first meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office says that the Punjab government has already clarified its stand regarding water security in the state. They say that Punjab already has less water than it needs, so they cannot give even a drop of Punjab's water to Haryana.
The meeting between two states is being held on the orders of the Supreme Court. Significantly, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had said that leaders of previous governments have been avoiding such important meetings, but they will go to the meeting with full preparation.
On the other hand, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the people of Haryana have the right over the SYL canal, he said that the water of SYL is very important for Haryana.