Land acquired for SYL denotified

Punjab drafts Bill defining ownership, utilisation and remuneration on water

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 15

The Punjab Government today denotified almost 5,000 acres of land acquired for the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal. It is learnt to have prepared a Bill defining the ownership, utilisation and remuneration on water. In all probability, the Bill will be presented in the Punjab Assembly tomorrow. This Bill seeks to establish the ownership of water since the re-organisation of states in November 1966.

Sources say the Bill could assess and recover cess for use of waters beyond the boundaries of Punjab. The state government could set up an authority to determine the cess to be levied on non-riparian states. Top officials pointed out that water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power came under the State List ( List 2) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Also, Article 262 did not recognise Ravi and Beas as inter-state rivers.

The broad parameters of the Bill were discussed today at SAD's core committee meeting which lasted three hours. Sources say most members were of the opinion that the Bill should be passed in the House tomorrow and that a mere resolution would not do. The Bill is a money Bill and requires the nod of the Governor before being introduced in the House.

The quasi-judicial order, allowing for denotification of the SYL land, comes days after the Supreme Court ruled the Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act, 2004, was invalid. The SAD-BJP government today decided to denotify over 5,300 acres of land acquired for SYL three decades ago. Of this, almost 4,900 acres will now be returned to the original land owners free of cost. There are specific provisions in law that allow the government to denotify land acquired for a project if the same ceases to exist or is delayed indefinitely.

The Punjab House passed The Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal Land (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill, 2016, in March this year. A plea was filed by the Haryana Government in the Supreme Court which held that this was an attempt to nullify the decree granted by the top court for SYL construction.

Today’s order denotifies almost 5,000 acres of land, which also includes land acquired for a network of minors and distributaries from the main canal to irrigate fields in areas in Ropar, SAS Nagar, Fatehagrh Sahib and Patiala districts. Deputy Commissioners of these districts will be issuing separate notifications under the Land Acquisition Act.

Contempt case in SC against Badal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear acontempt of court petition against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal for making statements in violation of the SC order for sharing river waters with neighbouring states. A Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said the plea would be heard in due course. The petition has been filed by Rohtak-based NGO ‘Two plus five Mudhe Jan Andolan’ president Satvir Singh Hooda. tns

Oppn not invited to session: Channi

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 15

The Punjab Congress today accused the SAD-BJP government of double standards on the issue of inviting Congress MLAs for tomorrow’s special Vidhan Sabha session.

“On the one hand, CM Parkash Singh Badal had publically asked the Congress legislators to attend the special session on the SYL, but we have not received any official invite by the Vidhan Sabha secretariat,” said Charanjit Singh Channi, Leader of the Opposition.

“Though the Congress MLAs have decided to stay away from the session after resigning, the issue becomes all the more important as our resignations have not been accepted so far,” he said.

Without participating in the session, the Punjab Congress has announced to support the state government from outside on the issue of saving riverwaters of Punjab.

Capt mocks AAP’s dharna

PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh today ridiculed no-show of Aam Aadmi Party’s dharna in Patiala’s Kapoori village, saying it showed people’s disillusionment with party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

AAP yesterday called off its “indefinite dharna” launched last week with much fanfare in the wake of a Supreme Court verdict on the SYL canal.

Questioning Kejriwal’s silence on the verdict, Capt Amarinder challenged him to speak out and make his stand clear.

Denotification of SYL land gimmick: Cong

Chandigarh, November 15
The Punjab Congress has dismissed as political gimmickry the state Cabinet's decision to denotify the land acquired for SYL, saying the Badal government had done nothing but spent the last six months in deciding to do what the Congress had been insisting upon all this while.

Questioning the need to call a special session tomorrow, PPCC vice-president Sunil Jakhar said: "The Badal government had earlier unnecessarily called a special session for passing the de-acquisition Bill and had now again called a special session without rhyme or reason," he said.

DENOTIFICATION OF SYL LAND

Despite Cabinet’s decision, forestland can’t be diverted

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 15

A Punjab Cabinet’s decision to return land acquired for the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal to its owners would have no bearing on land demarcated as “protected forest area”, the Forest Department said.

Records of the Forest Department say a major chunk of land for the canal falls under the protected forest cover and therefore “cannot be tilled or diverted for any other purpose without Centre’s nod”.

Land along the canal on both sides is covered under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980; Indian Forest Act, 1927; and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Senior forest officials said forest land even if transferred to actual owners could not be diverted for any other use, including agriculture.

“In March, the Supreme Court had directed status quo on land meant for the SYL canal after Haryana alleged that attempts were being made to alter its use by levelling it. The apex court, in its interim order, had appointed the Union Home Secretary, Punjab Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) as the ‘joint receiver’ of land and other property meant for the canal,” said a forest official.

On March 16 and 17, farmers had started levelling SYL land. In the process, about 2,000 trees spread over 11 hectares were axed. Forestland in Patiala, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali districts were at the receiving end. Some of the trees were more than two decades old, an official said.

The department had counted the loss of trees. But shrubs, small trees and bushes that were removed are yet to be counted.

“There is no count of wild animals killed during two days of March,” the official said.

Later, forest officials had written to Deputy Commissioners, urging them to “provide security to save damage to forest area”.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Kuldeep Kumar claimed to be unaware of the Cabinet’s decision. He, though, clarified, “No forest land can be diverted for any purpose by the state government or individual without Centre’s sanction.”

“The only rule is to go for compensatory afforestation. I will comment further when I read the decision,” he added.

AAP volunteers oppose party candidates

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 15

Volunteers of the Aam Aadmi Party today held a dharna outside the party’s Jalandhar office in protest against the allocation of party ticket to Chandan Grewal from Kartarpur and Hans Raj Rana from Adampur.

Terming Grewal, a leader of the Safai Karmchari Union, an outsider, the activists claimed they had been given assurance that someone from within the constituency would be chosen.

Amarjit Singh Khalsa, circle coordinator, Kartarpur, said: “The ticket has been given to a candidate who didn’t even have the primary membership of the party a day ago. He was still in government service and resigned today. Our protest is against the backdoor entries.”

Meanwhile, volunteers lead by Adampur coordinator Harnek Singh – who tendered resignation on Sunday in protest against former BSP councillor Rana’s nomination – also joined the dharna today.

He said: “A volunteer who had gone to meet MP Bhagwant Mann on the matter was treated poorly. Party activists have also met top leaders, but there was no response.”

Grewal said: “I resigned from my job before my nomination. Due to the long-drawn process some think I resigned today. I was also a primary member of the party before the ticket allocation.”

Another Act may be of no help, say former judges

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 15

The Supreme Court’s verdict on the SYL issue may not be the end of the road for the Punjab Government, though passing of another Act on the issue may not be the right course, experts feel. Mutual give and take is the option favoured by almost all.

Punjab and Haryana High Court’s former Acting Chief Justice Mehtab Singh Gill says the new Act, if passed by the Assembly, may meet the same fate of being struck down by the Supreme Court.

Yet, it does not mean Punjab is without its options. Justice Gill believes the government could file a review petition. In alternative, it could go in for a curative petition. The government could even seek the President’s intervention in the matter through the council of ministers of the Centre.

Going into the background of the issue, Justice Gill says the matter was referred to the SC by the President by making a reference under Article 143 of the Constitution as the question of law was of public importance.

Now that the apex court has given its opinion in the matter and sent the reference back to the President, he is well within his rights to accept, or not to accept, the same.

“The Punjab Government should actively be pursuing the matter with the President and the Prime Minister, as the state does not have in 2016 the quantum of water it had in 1982,” he suggests.

Supreme Court’s former Judge, Justice Ashok Bhan, says the passing of a new Act may invite another challenge.

Justice Bhan says his opinion is that the verdict is required to be accepted. “In a federal system, the states cannot be fighting with each other. Someone has to arbitrate between the warring sides and the decision of the arbitrator has to be accepted. Defying the decision is no solution. Being from Punjab, I feel that the state’s interest should be protected. But the issue needs to be seen from a wider national perspective,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh High Court's former Chief Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan says if the rule of law is to prevail, the Supreme Court’s decision needs to be accepted and complied with. The political parties cannot be creating a chaotic situation over the issue. “International agreements will fail, if pacts later on are not honoured for purported advantages,” Justice Liberhan adds.

Punjab’s former advocate-general-cum-senior advocate Rajinder Singh Cheema too believes compliance with the Supreme Court verdict is the only available alternative. Any unilateral move to come out with another Act will not find favour with the SC.

Options for state

The government can file a review petition or it can opt for a curative petition
The govt can even seek President’s intervention in the matter through the council of ministers of the Centre

Govt calls all-party meeting on SYL

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 15

With Punjab upping the ante against parting with more water for Haryana through the SYL canal and unanimity among Haryana’s political parties to secure its water share, the state’s BJP government has decided to convene an all-party meeting for November 17 here. While the INLD and the Congress, the two main opposition parties, have already held separate meetings to deliberate on the Punjab stand, the government has decided to convene the meeting to bring all parties on a common platform.

Sources said the government was keen on seeking suggestions from various leaders in dealing with the situation after the Supreme Court ruled on the SYL canal in favour of Haryana.

While Punjab is mincing no words in declaring that it will not part with “one drop of water” for Haryana despite the verdict, Haryana and the government don’t want to take this lying down.

By taking everybody on board, the government wants to make a concerted and collective effort to give a “befiting reply” to Punjab and its government for “denying Haryana its due”.

The INLD has served an ultimatum on the Centre to begin construction of the SYL before February 23 failing which the party will take on this responsibility. The Congress under former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has already announced the “adhikar sangharsh” while demanding dismissal of the Punjab government.

Earlier this month, during the on-day special session of the Haryana assembly to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of the state, the government, on the insistence of the Opposition, had brought a resolution condemning Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal’s statement that Punjab and Punjabis will not accept any verdict against the state’s interest on river waters. The resolution was unanimously passed by the Assembly.

Punjab’s decision ‘unconstitutional’

Any fresh legislation brought to nullify any part of the Presidential reference on the SYL canal on which the SC has already taken a decision will be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has termed the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act as unconstitutional right from the beginning. Commenting on the decision of the Punjab Cabinet to denotify the land acquired for the SYL canal, Anurag Rastogi, Principal Secretary, Irrigation, said here today that “if we go by the opinion of the Supreme Court, the step taken by the Punjab Government is unconstitutional. In case any such step is taken in future, even that would be unconstitutional.

Haryana to move SC against Punjab

CHANDIGARH: Hours after the Punjab cabinet’s decision to return the land acquired for construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal to its original owners, the Haryana government decided to approach the Supreme Court against the move.

Disclosing this, Haryana advocate general BR Mahajan told Hindustan Times that Punjab’s move had “strengthened” Haryana’s case.

“We will be taking appropriate legal action in the apex court,” Mahajan said, though he did not elaborate on the matter.

“As the Punjab government did not get the governor’s assent for the Punjab SYL Canal Land (Transfer of Propriety Rights) Bill passed in March this year, now the cabinet has decided to return the land. They cannot do so,” he said, adding that Punjab’s action was in defiance of the apex court order.Another senior functionary handling the SYL issue in Haryana said the state would wait for formal notification on the Punjab cabinet decision and thereafter move the Supreme Court.

The Haryana government was already in the process of filing a petition for execution of the apex court orders passed in 2002 and 2004 for the completion of the SYL canal.

In March this year, the Punjab assembly had unanimously approved a bill, seeking transfer the entire SYL land measuring 5,376-acre free of cost to its original owners. The land was acquired for the canal over three decades ago for `35 crore.

Punjab defies SC, to return SYL land to farmers

COUNTDOWN TO CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS Cabinet denotifies 5,376 acres acquired for canal, owners to get land free of cost; assembly’s emergency session today

Villagers levelling the SYL canal at Chunni Khurd village in Fatehgarh Sahib in March this year after the Punjab Vidhan Sabha unanimously cleared the SYL bill to return land to owners.

CHANDIGARH: Setting the stage for a constitutional confrontation with the Supreme Court, the Punjab cabinet on Tuesday decided to denotify 5,376 acres of land that was acquired for the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and return it to its original owners free of cost.he Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government’s “groundaltering” move, which came a day before an emergency session of the Vidhan Sabha on SYL, is being widely seen as defiance of the apex court and might lead to a constitutional crisis of sorts with just days to go for the assembly elections in the state. The decision taken in “public interest” came into effect immediately and necessary orders were being passed by the government to deputy commissioners at the time of going to press.

The probability of Badal government bringing in a bill appears highly unlikely. However, plans are afoot to introduce a stronglyworded resolution on contentious inter-state water dispute, making Punjab’s position absolutely clear.

The Supreme Court had in March 2016 ordered the state to maintain status quo on the SYL canal land after the Punjab assembly had unanimously approved the ‘Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill-2016’ to return it to its owners. The order was passed on an application moved by the Haryana government.

The top court, in its interim order, also appointed Union home secretary and Punjab’s chief secretary and director general of police as ‘joint receivers’ of land and other property associated with the canal. While the bill is still awaiting assent of the governor, the state cabinet went ahead and issued the “executive decision”, denotifying the canal land.

“The land acquired for SYL canal project, which is presently vested in the Punjab government, free from all encumbrances, stands denotified with immediate effect and shall forthwith vest in the original land owners of their lineal descendants/legal representatives, free of cost,” reads the statement released by the state government after the meeting.

The chief minister refused to add to the statement, his son, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, also ducked queries. “This is only the first step today… for the cause of our people and to protect their interests, we will take every necessary step. Water is the lifeline of every citizen of Punjab,” he said.

The land-denotification move left the ruling BJP in Haryana stunned. The Haryana BJP Legislature Party, which met in the evening, decided to take a delegation to Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore on Wednesday (Nov 16) to urge not to approve any unconstitutional step of the state government. Even as chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is still to comment on the denotification move, he has convened an allparty meeting to discuss all issues relating to the contentious canal.

In Punjab, the Congress dismissed the state cabinet’s decision as “political gimmickry”. Earlier, the core committee of the SAD, which was closeted for two hours to decide the contours of this political gambit, declared that it would neither allow the construction of the SYL canal, nor had any water to spare for any other state.“We stand by the Constitution of India, which guarantees us absolute and exclusive right over the waters of rivers that flow through our state,” it said.

The denotification decision came within a week of the Supreme Court verdict, invalidating the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act-2004 passed by the then Congress government to unilaterally annul all water-sharing agreements with the neighbouring states.The SAD, making its intentions of taking the SC head on, said: “The opinion (on Presidential reference) finally given by the apex court has further deepened the belief that Punjab cannot get justice from the top constitutional institutions in the country.”

The court verdict has brought the emotive riverwater dispute between Punjab and Haryana to the centrestage, raising the political temperature in the poll-bound state.

The Akali Dal and Congress, acting as the true “flag bearers” of the cause, are trying to outdo each other for electoral dividends.

BADAL GOVT’S RETURN GIFT

JULY 12, 2004: The then Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh gets the assembly to pass ‘Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004’, annulling the 1981 agreement and all subsequent ones FEB 29, 2016: Supreme Court resumes hearing on presidential reference on the validity of Punjab Termination of Agreements Act-2004. Centre contends the Act was not valid MARCH 14: Punjab Vidhan Sabha unanimously clears SYL bill to return land to owners, Haryana House resolution flays move. Two days later, the apex court directs Punjab to maintain status quo MARCH 16: Haryana CM requests Punjab governor not to clear SYL bill. Punjab sends cheque for `192 crore to Haryana against latter’s contribution for the canal NOVEMBER 10: Supreme Court holds invalid Termination of Agreements Act-2004 NOVEMBER 15: Punjab cabinet de-notifies and decides to return land acquired for SYL canal to owners

WHAT NEXT

Barely three hours after the Punjab government decided to denotify the land acquired for the SYL canal project, Haryana’s advocate general BR Mahajan said the state has decided to approach the apex court. With Haryana deciding to move the court, the Punjab cabinet’s unilateral action of denotifying the canal land may get thrown out. Punjab government, whose action is being widely viewed as defiance of the apex court, may face contempt proceedings for altering the status of canal land despite being ordered to maintain status quo. Haryana may file execution petition for implementation of 2002 and 2004 orders in which the Centre was asked to tell a central agency to handle the canal works. With the court declaring the Punjab law invalid, these orders have become operative.

CONTEMPT PLEA AGAINST BADALS

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear a plea seeking criminal contempt proceedings against Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal for their public pronouncements that they will not comply with the top court’s verdict on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. The court, however, has not fixed a date for the hearing as of now. The bench headed by chief justice TS Thakur said the matter would be heard in due course as counsel Rakesh Dahiya, appearing for the petitioner, Satbir, mentioned the matter for an early hearing.

PUNJAB GOVT DECLARES HOLIDAY TODAY

HANDIGARH: The Punjab government has declared a holiday on November 16 to commemorate 101st martyrdom day Kartar Singh Sarabha. All state government offices boards, corporations and educational institutions and public undertakings will remain closed. Sarabha was given death penalty in the Lahore conspiracy trial in 1915.

But where is the water anyway?

HE POINT IS THAT AMID THE HULLABALOO THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY WITNESSING ON THE SYL ISSUE LIES THE MOOT QUESTION — WHERE IS THE WATER THAT EVERYONE IS ASKING PUNJAB TO SHARE WITH THE NEIGHBOURING HARYANA?

Always an emotive issue for the people of Punjab, the SutlejYamuna Link (SYL) canal controversy has plunged to new lows of discussion and debate in the past few days, since the Supreme Court pronounced its much-awaited verdict on the issue, with all its explosive ramifications.

Some of the frequently asked questions are: How can Punjab refuse to give water to Haryana now that the apex court has stamped its approval on the SYL canal? Why is Punjab being so adamant on the issue? Isn’t water a natural resource meant to be shared by all humanity? How can Punjab be so selfish and greedy?

Valid questions, one might say, except that none of them really seeks to address the core issue at the heart of the problem faced by Punjab. And that core issue, unfortunately, was neither raised nor argued in the court even once all through the pendency of the case. The result is that the apex court ended up making conclusions on the presidential reference based neither on facts and ground realities nor on the basis of the country’s Constitutional principles, but on an analysis of incomplete and insufficient information and data.

Now, the point is that amid the hullabaloo that we are currently witnessing on the issue lies the moot question – where is the water that everyone is asking Punjab to share with the neighbouring Haryana?

This is an important question that needs to be urgently addressed if we are to save Punjab from an inevitable doom. After all, how does one share something that one does not have? It is like asking a homeless man to share his roof or a poor beggar to share his alms. The futility of such a demand is self-evident, except perhaps to those who suffer from a myopic vision. PUNJAB’S WATER DEMAND

Data available in public domain indicates that Punjab’s total water demand currently stands at over 50 MAF (million acre feet). As far as river allocation goes, the state’s share is 14.33 MAF (this includes pre-1947 allocation of 1.98 MAF), of which 8.02 MAF is expected from Sutlej and another 4.33 MAF from Ravi and Beas rivers. These numbers may look impressive, but they actually represent a mere 40% of the total estimated water of the three rivers, which can meet only 28% of the state’s total water demand.

Incidentally, Punjab water woes don’t end here. If national and international data is to be believed (and there is no reason to doubt it), the water table in the plains of north India is depleting fast. So much so that according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the agriculture output in states like Punjab and Haryana is on the verge of collapse.

Closer home, the water resources and environment directorate has revealed that the water level in Punjab has dipped in 80% of the state’s total area. A spate of drought years, coupled with inadequate rainfall, has left the river canals that feed the bulk of Punjab’s agricultural land high and dry, quite literally. What further escalates the problem is the melting of glaciers as a result of the climatic changes taking place in the upper reaches of the Himalayas. As many as 109 new lakes were formed between 2013 and 2015 on account of accelerated glacial melting in the Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers.With the canals drying up, farmers in Punjab are increasingly shifting to unregulated use of borewells (approximately 14 lakh of them exist already), thereby further causing the decline of subsoil water. In areas like Hoshiarpur and Sardulgarh, the decline is more than 58 metres – a clear sign of the way things are going for Punjab on the water front. SYL’S IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE

It is in this troublesome context that we need to look at the SYL issue and its implications for Punjab. According to experts, the moment the SYL starts flowing, around 9.75 lakh acres of Punjab’s fertile land will be rendered barren, putting to risk the livelihood of 15 lakh families.

Now if that does not sound serious enough, then sample this: If Haryana is given 3.5 MAF water for its SYL network, several districts of Punjab, notably Bathinda, Ferozepur, Mansa and Faridkot, with their saline and toxic ground water, will become completely dry.

Ironically, the central government has declared three-fourths of Punjab as ‘dark zone’, or ‘no-extraction zone’, thereby admitting the insufficiency of water in the state. Yet it failed to bring this vital fact to the notice of the Supreme Court during the hearing on the SYL issue, resulting in a totally unjust and unfair conclusion on the part of the honourable judges.

Clearly, it is a situation crying for collective wisdom and proactive intervention, which, unfortunately, is conspicuous by its absence in the current political scenario in the poll-bound state of Punjab. But even as we fight our political battles, let us not forget that the failure to address its water crisis in a timely manner could lead to disastrous consequences for Punjab, which is clearly sitting on a landmine that a mere spark would be enough to explode. NEED TO ADOPT RIPARIAN PRINCIPLES

Is there, then, no solution to the problem?

Of course, there are always the riparian principles of water sharing, recognised and applied across the world, that we can adopt to resolve the SYL issue and other water rows. Political compulsions keep us, in India, from taking recourse to this simple method to find a way out of the water mess gripping many states. And unless we let go of these compulsions in favour of a more realistic and humanitarian approach to the issue, we may end up transforming the once green belt of India into a parched desert, incapable of nurturing life and sustenance for the nation.

So let us, for once, rise above our petty, vested interests and come together to save Punjab and the interests of its people. Failure to do so would result in inevitable doom for the state, and eventually for the country.

(The writer is Punjab Congress president. Views

expressed are personal.)

Dry canals, saline groundwater take toll on farm yield in Fazilka

WATER CRISIS A poll issue for 4 decades, promises made to 122 tail-end villages remain unfulfilled

FAZILKA: The opposition Congress and the ruling Akali-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition seem to be disturbed over the Supreme Court’s ruling on the SutlejYamuna Link (SYL) canal, but while in power, both have failed to fulfil the poll promise made to 122 villages in southern Punjab, which are facing severe water crisis with people forced to use saline water for irrigation and drinking purposes for over four decades now.

With another assembly elections round the corner, the top leadership of the Punjab Congress on Sunday organised a massive rally against the Centre and the Akali-BJP regime on the same issue. Many villagers, however, have lost all hope of the authorities giving heed to their pleas.On paper, these 122 villages across Fazilka, Balluana and Abohar assembly segments get 1,025 cusecs of canal water for six months, during the kharif season. In reality, farmers had to shell out thousands on diesel for pumping saline groundwater to irrigate their holdings, even during the kharif season that ended this month.

“These minor canals were fed for less than four months,” said Anant Ram, a farmer in Khanwala village of Fazilka tehsil. The cotton yield from his 10-acre holding declined to a third this season, courtesy the saline groundwater, not fit for the crop. “Also paddy could not fetch us more than `1,400 per quintal, because of its poor quality, all due to the water crisis,” he said.

The entire area, spread over 1.11-lakh hectares, adjoining Rajasthan on the south and Pakistan on the west had earlier been a cotton hub.

“Many of us have gradually switched over from cotton to paddy in absence of irrigation. But paddy too turned out to be of poor quality due to salinity in groundwater,” said Anirudh of Kehrian village.

Meanwhile, a reverse osmosis (RO) plant for potable water is lying unused for over a year in Kehran. “During every election season, politicians promise round-the-year water, assuring action on our written demand for six-month regular supply, but to no avail,” said Anirudh.

Cong shifts into poll gear, Capt roadshows from Nov 21

‘ONE-UPMANSHIP’ Amarinder says party won’t support Badal’s move

CHANDIGARH: The Congress is in no mood to return any favours, at least not when the elections are barely three months away. When the Captain Amarinder Singhled Congress government had brought the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act-2004 over Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, the Shiromani Akali Dal had no choice but to support it as elections were years away. But 12 years down, as Punjab Congress chief, Amarinder is not willing to let the water war he waged for Punjab go down the drain.

The party pre-empted the move of the Parkash Singh Badal government of calling a special session of the Punjab assembly and asking the opposition to unite in the “interest of Punjab”, through en masse resignation of all its 42 MLAs on the day the adverse Supreme Court ruling came. As the battle of one-upmanship moves to Delhi—both parties will separately meet President Pranab Mukherjee and have asked their MPs to raise the issue in the Parliament—Amarinder has turned down Badal’s appeal to the Congress MLAs to attend the session. Instead, he intends to steal Badal’s thunder by embarking on roadshows from next week.

Starting November 21, the Congress campaign will move into poll gear as Amarinder holds roadshows across Punjab, adding SYL to the list of “woes inherited” from the 10-year-long Badal legacy. Talking to HT on Tuesday, Amarinder said Congress MLAs have already resigned in protest against Badal’s “failure” to protect Punjab’s water rights.“Badal could not defend the case for 10 years and failed to give true picture of Punjab’s depleted water resources to the Supreme Court. In the budget session, he passed the bill to denotify land acquired for the SYL but failed to secure the governor’s assent. We do not want to be a part of this farce,” he said.

He said their party has sought legal opinion and Punjab can bring in a legislation to remove the very foundation of the verdict after the Congress government is at the helm. ONE UP ON AAP TOO

The Congress is also cashing in on the issue to project itself as a “bigger well-wisher” of Punjab than not just ruling Akali Dal but also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Hardly a day has passed since the SC ruling when Amarinder has not questioned the silence of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.

It is another matter that even Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi chose to steer clear of answering media queries on SYL during his Punjab visit in April after the state assembly had annulled the land notification for SYL, as the Congress is rooting for SYL in Haryana. Like Rahul, Kejriwal cannot overlook Delhi’s concerns but a poll-bound state gets the right to be the first among equals and Capt knows that.