Haryana and Punjab Chiefs Meet to Resolve SYL Canal Dispute Amid Supreme Court Deadline

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In a bid to resolve the long-standing Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann met in Chandigarh on Tuesday. The meeting, which is still underway, comes as the Supreme Court has set a deadline in April for the two states to find a solution. The SYL canal project, conceived in the 1980s, aims to share water from the Ravi and Beas rivers between the states. However, Punjab has been slow to complete its portion of the 214-kilometre canal, while Haryana has already completed its stretch. The Supreme Court has ruled in Haryana's favour multiple times, including in 2002, directing Punjab to construct its part of the canal. Punjab has maintained that it has no surplus water to share, while Haryana has been demanding its rightful share of the Indus waters. The Centre has intervened in the matter, with Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil convening meetings between the two chief ministers in July and August last year. Punjab's Bhagwant Mann has suggested using water from the Chenab River or the Ganga and Yamuna rivers to resolve the dispute, rather than relying on the SYL canal. The meeting between Mann and Saini is seen as a crucial step towards finding a lasting solution to the contentious issue.