Tanisha Rana
Published on: September 7, 2022 at 22:38 IST
The Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal dispute was addressed by the Supreme Court on Tuesday by ordering the Union Government to arrange talks between the States of Punjab and Haryana.
An initial lawsuit brought by Haryana against Punjab in 1996 was being heard by a Bench of judges that included Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S. Oka, and Vikram Nath.
K. K. Venugopal, the Attorney General of India, testified on behalf of the Union Government and said that the Ministry of Jal Shakti is attempting to unite the States of Punjab and Haryana.
The State of Punjab is not helping in the investigation, according to the Attorney General.
The Court then ordered all parties to work together and said that, “Either they sit and talk or the Court will order execution of the decree….These issues should not be allowed to fester…. It will allow forces that may not be amicable to the country to act and interfere.”
In the wider interest of the nation, the Court stated that the situation cannot be left as it is since it is delicate.
The judge said that, “Water is a natural resource, and all living things—individual or collective—must learn to share it. A single city or state cannot be considered while examining the issue. The natural riches must be distributed, and a system must be put in place to do this.”
Discussions between the parties were ordered by the court to be held by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, and four months have been given to submit a report on the meetings.
The issue will be discussed again on January 19, 2023.