A public awareness campaign will be launched in Haryana to pressurize the government to bring the SYL canal through Himachal Pradesh : Jitendra Nath,

A public awareness campaign will be launched in Haryana to pressurize the government to bring the SYL canal through Himachal Pradesh :  Jitendra Nath, President of SYL Himachal Marg Committee,

With the termination of the Indus Water Treaty, 20,000 cusecs of water from the Chenab can solve the water scarcity issues in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

Chandigarh 3 May ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The SYL Himachal Marg Committee, an organization dedicated to the cause of the SYL canal, has decided to launch a public awareness campaign in Haryana to highlight the importance of this canal and to protest against the government's negligence in addressing this issue. Over the next four months, the campaign will involve spreading awareness among villagers, blocks, colleges, and universities. Jitendra Nath, the committee's president and a resident of Haryana’s Bhiwani district, stated in a press conference today at the Chandigarh Press Club that the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project has been entangled in political and legal disputes between Haryana and Punjab. The committee has proposed an alternative route for the canal, which will start from the Bhakra Dam in Himachal Pradesh, and pass through the state to reach Tangri River near Panchkula. He said that implementing this suggestion would avoid conflicts between constitutional institutions and protect the federal structure. Nath claimed that the proposed route passes through barren land in Himachal Pradesh, which is government-owned and can be easily transferred by the Himachal government. He also mentioned that the water from the Bhakra Dam flows naturally due to a steep slope, generating electricity, and then flows into the Satluj canal. The Satluj River flows through Himachal Pradesh for approximately 11 kilometers, and the SYL canal can be connected to it at any point along that stretch. The water would easily flow from the Satluj canal to the Jansui Head, as the elevation at this point is 1203 feet above sea level, while Panchkula is at 1000 feet, Ambala at 900 feet, and Jansui Head at 823 feet. Jitendra Nath further stated that if the central government is committed, the SYL water can be brought to southern Haryana within a year with only political will and determination. He emphasized that the proposed route would not harm Punjab's farmers or reduce Haryana's share of water. He mentioned that he had conducted a detailed study of this alternative route, which would bring the SYL water to Haryana peacefully and harmoniously. He informed that a series of activities will be organized over the next four months, and if the governments fail to take concrete steps to bring SYL water to Haryana, a protest will be held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and a memorandum will be submitted to the Prime Minister. Nath also suggested that if the BJP governments in Haryana and the center want to resolve the SYL issue, the canal should be constructed from the Bhakra Dam to Badi (Himachal Pradesh), and from there, it should pass through Pinjore to reach the Tangri River near Panchkula, which could then be extended to Jansui Head. He explained this proposal through a documentary, pointing out that the canal's construction had already been completed up to Jansui Head. The Bhakra Dam is about 67 kilometers from Haryana, while the distance through Punjab is 156 kilometers. Jitendra Nath claimed that if the canal is constructed through Himachal Pradesh, Haryana's government would incur a lower financial burden, and there would be no issues of resettlement. Additionally, a 1100 MW hydropower project could be set up along this route, which would provide the state's farmers with their rightful irrigation water. He stressed that farmers in southern Haryana have been deprived of SYL water for the past 43 years, leading to a drop in the water table and making drinking water unfit for consumption. Due to the poor quality of drinking water, diseases like cancer have increased. He criticized all political parties for making this issue a subject of politics ever since Haryana's formation. He said that even after the Supreme Court’s verdict, if SYL water is brought through Punjab, some political parties may mislead farmers and incite protests in Punjab. The committee does not want to take any steps that might harm the goodwill between the people of Haryana and Punjab. He expressed concerns that Congress, INLD, and BJP have shown no interest in resolving the SYL issue and have been delaying it by calling it a pending matter in the Supreme Court. Recently, the Supreme Court directed the construction of the SYL canal to ensure the additional water from the Beas River reaches the fields of southern Haryana. The committee had submitted this proposal to the Governors and Chief Ministers of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in 2017 but received no response. Later, the committee filed a public interest petition in the Supreme Court, asking for a directive to the central and state governments to take action on the proposed alternative route. The Supreme Court suggested that the matter be addressed by the government, prompting the committee to contact the authorities. The committee’s president announced that the people of the state would be made aware of the central and state governments' indifference, so they can put pressure on the authorities to resolve the issue. He explained that the water distribution agreement between Punjab, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir was made on January 29, 1955. After Haryana's formation in 1966, it was allocated 3.5 million acre-feet of water from Punjab, which was to be delivered through the SYL canal to southern Haryana. Construction on this canal continued until 1990, but was halted after the murder of a chief engineer, an executive engineer, and 22 workers on July 2, 1990. In 1996, Haryana approached the Supreme Court, and a decision was made in 2002, but no action was taken. Recently, the Punjab government canceled the notification for land acquisition for the SYL canal and returned the land to the farmers. As a result, the Punjab government has no land for the canal project and has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that it has no land available for the SYL canal project.

With the termination of the Indus Water Treaty, 20,000 cusecs of water from the Chenab could resolve the water scarcity issues in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

Jitendra Nath  stated that recently, the central government has taken steps to end the Indus Water Treaty, which could also benefit Haryana. If water from the Chenab is brought to the Beas near Mandi, it can be fed into the Gobind Sagar reservoir through the Pandoh Dam and Pong Dam. This additional 20,000 cusecs of water from the Chenab could alleviate the water scarcity in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.