Introduction
Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal or SYL, is an under-construction 214-kilometer long canal in India to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. The canal is being built with aim to share the waters of the rivers Ravi and Beas between the states of Haryana and Punjab.
Background
The Indus basin was divided after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, with Pakistan having lower reaches of the Indus River and its tributaries and India gaining the upper reaches of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. This resulted in a situation where the use and growth of water resources in one country would hinder those in another. In 1954, while the dispute was being resolved through negotiations, India had already begun to take similar steps in preparation for a treaty.
The Bhakra Nangal project was able to fix the Sutlej river water issue, but the surplus water issues with the Ravi and Beas rivers that do not include the pre-Partition use still exist.
The allocation of water from the rivers was agreed upon by the states of Punjab, PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union), Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir in January 1955. When Punjab and PEPSU merged in 1956, Punjab's part of the anticipated 15.85 MAF of water decreased to 7.2 MAF (metric acre-feet), while Rajasthan's share increased to 8 MAF, and Jammu and Kashmir's share increased to the remaining amount.
The 1960 Indus Water Treaty gave India free access to water from the Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas rivers.
After the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966 and the creation of the state of Haryana, a disagreement over the sharing of river water arose. Punjab claimed ownership of the whole amount of water from the rivers, while Haryana requested 4.8 MAF of Punjab's total 7.2 MAF share.
Punjab refused to share water with Haryana, claiming that doing so would violate the riparian principle, which states that a river's water is only the property of the State or States through which it flows. As no agreement could be reached, Haryana requested the intervention of the central government.
The Union government issued an executive order in 1976, during a time of domestic emergency, allocating 3.5 MAF of water to each state while giving Delhi the remainder. A Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal was suggested in order to utilise all of the water that was allotted.
Shromani Akali Dal, a political party in Punjab, opposed the decision. The Shiromani Akali Dal sought that the water sharing between Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan be decided by the Supreme Court after assuming power in 1977 and launched a lawsuit in opposition to the Union government's decision.
A deal between Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan—all of which were under the control of the Indian National Congress (INC)—was made on December 31, 1981, after the INC had taken control of Punjab in 1980. The deal upped Punjab's share to 4.22 MAF and Rajasthan's to 8.6 MAF, while leaving Haryana's portion from the revised 17.17 MAF of water unchanged.