Chandigarh:
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will hold a meeting with the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab here on Thursday on the issue of Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal.
According to a statement issued by the Haryana government on Wednesday, Gajendra Shekhawat will hold the meeting to address the long-standing issue of Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (SYL).
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will attend the meeting, the report said.
Manohar Lal Khattar had recently written a letter to Bhagwant Mann and expressed his willingness to hold a meeting to resolve any obstacles or problems related to the construction of the SYL canal.
Bhagwant Mann had also said earlier this month that he would attend the meeting, but claimed that the state has no reserve water to share with other states.
The SYL canal issue has been a bone of contention between Punjab and Haryana in recent years.
The canal is designed for effective water sharing between the two states of rivers Ravi and Beas. The project envisages a 214-kilometre long canal, of which a 122-kilometre stretch will be constructed in Punjab and the remaining 92 kilometers in Haryana.
The Haryana government wants implementation of the Supreme Court verdict on the construction of the SYL canal.
The Supreme Court had on October 4 asked the Center to examine the portion of land in Punjab allotted to the state for construction of part of the SYL Canal and estimate the extent of construction work being carried out there.
Haryana has completed the project in its territory but Punjab, which launched the work in 1982, has shelved it.
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