SATLUJ
YAMUNA LINK CANAL - GEOGRAPHY
News:
SYL deadlock persists as
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar stand firm
What's
in the news?
●
The stalemate over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link
canal continues as Punjab says it has no surplus water to share and Haryana
seeks implementation of the Supreme Court verdict on the canal's construction.
Key takeaways:
●
Punjab's Chief Minister stated that the
state will oppose any move to construct the canal, while Haryana's Chief
Minister emphasized the need for the canal to be built as per the court's
order.
●
The issue of water availability and
management remains unresolved between the two states.
Sutlej
Yamuna Link Canal (SYL) Dispute:
●
The Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal (SYL), is an under-construction canal to connect the
Sutlej and Yamuna rivers.
●
The decades-old dispute over the canal,
which is supposed to carry water from Punjab to Haryana, has its origin in a disagreement over sharing of Ravi-Beas
water.
●
The
river Beas joins river Sutlej in Punjab.
●
The dispute regarding sharing of river
water emerged after Punjab was reorganised in 1966, and the state of Haryana
was created (out of Punjab).
●
After this, Punjab refused to share waters
of Ravi and Beas with Haryana.
Key
takeaways:
●
A stretch of 214 km was to be constructed,
out of which 122 km was to cross Punjab and 92 km in Haryana.
Tribunal’s
decision:
●
The Eradi
Tribunal headed by the Supreme Court Judge was set up to reassess
availability and sharing of water.
●
In 1987, the tribunal recommended an
increase in the shares of Punjab and Haryana to 5 MAF and 3.83 MAF,
respectively.
Significance
of the Canal:
●
The canal once completed will enable
sharing of the waters of the rivers Ravi and Beas between the two states.
Current
Status:
●
In 2020, the Supreme Court directed the
Chief Ministers of both states to negotiate and settle the SYL canal issue at
the highest political level, with the Centre acting as a mediator.
●
Punjab has requested a new time-bound
assessment of water availability from a tribunal.
●
Punjab claims that no adjudication or
scientific assessment of river waters has occurred in the state to date.
●
Ravi-Beas water availability has also
decreased, from an estimated 17.17 MAF in 1981 to 13.38 MAF in 2013. All of
this would be determined by a new tribunal.
Go
back to basics:
Satluj
River:
●
The Satluj originates in the ‘Rakshas tal’ near Mansarovar at an altitude of
4,555 m in Tibet where it is known as Langchen Khambab.
●
It flows almost parallel to the Indus for
about 400 km before entering India, and comes out of a gorge at Rupar.
●
It passes through the Shipki La on the Himalayan ranges and enters the Punjab plains.
●
It is an antecedent river.
●
It is a very important tributary as it
feeds the canal system of the Bhakra
Nangal project.
Yamuna
River:
●
It is the western most and the longest tributary of the Ganga, and has its source
in the Yamunotri glacier on the western slopes of Bandarpunch range.
●
It joins
the Ganga at Prayag (Allahabad).
●
It is joined
by the Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and the Ken on its right bank which
originates from the Peninsular plateau while the Hindan, the Rind, the Sengar,
the Varuna, etc. join it on its left bank.
●
Much of its water feeds the western and
eastern Yamuna and the Agra canals for irrigation purposes.
Ravi
River:
●
The Ravi is another important tributary of the Indus.
●
It rises
west of the Rohtang pass in the Kullu hills of Himachal Pradesh and flows
through the Chamba valley of the
state.
●
Before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab near Sarai Sidhu, it
drains the area lying between the southeastern part of the Pir Panjal and the
Dhauladhar ranges.
Beas
River:
●
The Beas is another important tributary of the Indus, originating
from the Beas Kund near the Rohtang Pass at an elevation of 4,000 m above the
mean sea level.
●
The river flows through the Kullu valley
and forms gorges at Kati and Largi in
the Dhauladhar range.
●
It enters the Punjab plains where it meets
the Satluj near Harike.