The Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue remains necessary for the state and alleged that the Punjab government has made no progress in the matter, Chief Minister of Haryana Nayab Singh Saini.
For decades, Punjab and Haryana have been at loggerheads over the construction of the canal to effectively allocate water from the Ravi and Beas rivers.
The project envisaged a 214 km canal, of which 122 km was to be constructed in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana. Haryana has completed the project in its territory but Punjab, which launched the construction work in 1982, later shelved it.
During a meeting with the Ravi-Beas Water Tribunal led by Chairman Justice Vineet Saran here, Saini said the SYL issue remains critical for Haryana, with the Supreme Court earlier ruling in his state's favour.
However, Haryana is yet to receive its rightful share of water from Punjab, he was quoted as saying in an official statement.
The chief minister said that Haryana has repeatedly raised the demand for its share of water in multiple forums, but the Punjab government has made no progress on this matter.
The tribunal had been set up for adjudicating river water disputes between Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
On February 19, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told the tribunal that his state does not have a single drop of water to share with the other states.
Punjab has no surplus water to share with any other state and a reassessment of the availability of water is required as per international norms, he had said.
Haryana has been seeking completion of the canal to get its share of 3.5 millioacre-feetet (MAF) water and compliance by Punjab with the Supreme Court orders for the completion of the canal.
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