Har demanding its own share of water from SYL Canal: Khattar

Chandigarh, Mar 9: A day after Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki said Punjab's right to waters of its rivers should be "safeguarded", Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today asserted that his state is only asking for its own share of water through Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal.

"The water belongs to Haryana and the state would get it," he told reporters here. Addressing the budget session of the Punjab Assembly yesterday, Solanki, who is also Haryana's governor, had said that "injustice and discrimination" was meted out to Punjab over its river waters. Recently, days after the Supreme Court began hearing the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal dispute on Presidential Reference, Khattar had expressed hope the verdict would be in favour of his state.

While Khattar leads Haryana's BJP government, the party is SAD ally in Punjab. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had last week said his state "does not have a single drop of water to spare from its rivers and his party will fully ensure that there is no compromise on the inalienable rights of the state under the Riparian principle".

PTI