TMI Blog2002 (1) TMI 1330X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... har, Rajeev Sharma, R.S. Suri, Anis Suhrawardy, Rachana Srivastava, Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, Debasis Mohanty, Naresh K. Sharma, Hemantika Wahi, S.C. Birla, Vijay Panjwani, Mahabir Singh, Alka Agarwal, T. Mahipal, Sudhir Kulshreshtha, Reena Singh, Girish Chandra, Ashok Kumar Srivastava, Sheil Sethi, R.K. Maheshwari, Naresh Bakshi, M.L. Lahoty, M.K.D. Namboodiri, Prashant Chaudhary, Amit Singh, Jagjit Singh Chhabra, Chandra Bhushan Prasad, Sanjay Hegde, Shreekant N. Terdal, S.R. Sharma, V.A. Bobde, M.C. Mehta and Ajay Pal, Advs., Kumar Rajesh Singh, Adv., for B.B. Singh, Adv. Dhruv Mehta, Adv. for S. K. Mehta, Adv., JUDGMENT G.B. Pattanaik, J. 1. The State of Haryana has filed the present suit, under Article 131 of the Constitution of India, impleading the State of Punjab as defendant No. 1 and the Union of India as defendant No. 2, for the following reliefs: (a) pass a decree declaring that the order dated March 24, 1976, the Agreement of December 31, 1981 and the Settlement of July 24, 1985 are final and binding inter alia on the State of Punjab casting an obligation on Defendant No. 1 to immediately restart and complete the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... existed then, State of Kashmir, State of Rajasthan and State of PEPSU, which meeting had been convened by the Govt. of India on 29th January, 1955, a workable agreement was arrived at for development and utilization of the waters of Rivers Ravi and Beas and under the said agreement, the share of undivided Punjab was 5.90 M.A.F. When there was a bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Punjab into two separate States of Punjab and Haryana w.e.f. November 01, 1966 under Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, special provisions had been made with regard to the rights and liabilities of the successor States in relation to the water from Bhakra Nanagal Project and Beas Project. Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, deals with such rights and liabilities of the successor States. Disputes arose between the two States of Punjab and Haryana as to their respective share of water which had earlier been allocated to the erstwhile State of Punjab and in the meeting called by the Government of India, a decision was taken on ad hoc basis that 35% of water would go to Haryana and 65% for Punjab, pending finalisation of the dispute. The State of haryana approached the Government of India in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Supreme Court in the year 1979, being Suit No. 1 of 1979. The State of Punjab filed a suit in this Court under Article 131 of the Constitution, challenging the validity of the Orders of Government of India dated 24th of March, 1976 and also challenged the vires of Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, which was registered as Suit No. 2 of 1979. During the pendency of the aforesaid two suits, an agreement was entered into between the States of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan in the presence of the Prime Minister of India on 31st of December, 1981. Under the said agreement, the net surplus of Ravi Beas waters were estimated at 17.17 MAF and that stood allotted as 4.22 MAF to Punjab, 3.50 MAF for Haryana, 8.60 MAF for Rajasthan, 0.20 MAF for Delhi Water Supply and 0.65 MAF for Jammu and Kashmir. Clause (IV) of the said agreement provided: Clause (IV) The Sutlej-Yamuna Canal Project shall be implemented in a time bound manner so far as the canal and appurtenant works in the Punjab territory are concerned within a maximum period of two years from the date signing of the Agreement so that haryana is enabled to draw its allocated share of waters. The canal capacity ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ab territory, which is in addition to ₹ 250 Crores spent for the construction of the Canal within the haryana territory. Non-completion of the SYL Canal has debarred over three lac hectares of irrigation potential created in the State of Haryana and the said State is losing agricultural production over eight lac tonnes per annum. According to the plaintiff, if the canal would have been completed in 1983, as envisaged, then the State of Haryana would have been in a position to produce an additional 100 lac tonnes of food-grains, the value of which would work out to ₹ 5000 Crores. When the State of Punjab did not carry out the construction of the SYL Canal, the State of Haryana sought for intervention of the Union of India and the Prime Minister of India convened a meeting on 20th of February, 1991. In the said meeting, the Prime Minister directed that arrangements should be made for the Border Roads Organisation to take-over the work in the minimum time possible and the work should be dealt with on an emergency footing. At that point of time, there was no political government in the State of Punjab and it was under the Presidents Rule. In July 1995, the State of Punjab c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eferred to any tribunal and it was merely a concession given by said Harchand Singh Longowal. The Defendant No. 1 does not dispute the observations of the tribunal in its Report dated 30th of January, 1987, relating to the aforesaid paragraph 9.3, but contends that such observations were in fact beyond the jurisdiction of the tribunal. According to the Defendant No. 1, plaintiff's claim to have share from Beas Project would not exceed 0.9 MAF and that quantity of water would always be made available through the main Canal, which is in existence and functioning. The said Defendant No. 1 also averred that the State of Haryana is getting an additional water supply through River Yamuna under the Agreement dated 12th of May, 1994, between the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh and, therefore, there is no need for the SYL Canal in any event. It has been further averred that Haryana is already getting 1.62 MAF of water in Ravi-Beas waters through the existing canal system of Bhakra Main Line/Narwana Branch and the present system is fully capable of conveying the said quantity of water. Consequently, there is no need for SYL Canal. The Defendant No. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the defendant No. 2, the Union of India had already discharged its obligation by pursuing and directing the Government of Punjab for early completion of Punjab portion of the canal. It has been further averred that the Union of India had constituted the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal, which gave its interim report on 30th of January, 1987 and the final report of the tribunal is awaited. It has also been reiterated in the written statement that the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal in its interim report had observed that this canal is the lifeline for the farmers of Haryana and unless it is expeditiously completed, Haryana will not be in a position to utilize the full quantum of water allocated to it. The said defendant has also averred that the concept of a carrier for Haryana's share in surplus Ravi-Beas waters was envisaged in inter-State Agreement of 1981. Further, the Central Government determined the rights and liabilities of the successor States in accordance with Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 and allocated 3.5 MAF of surplus Ravi-Beas water to Haryana as per Government of India Notification dated 24.3.1976. The said defendant has stated in the written stat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Nos. 2 and 3 as preliminary issues but that order stood modified by the subsequent order dated 5th of September, 2000, as it was found that the preliminary issues cannot be disposed of without examining the relevant records and without going into the rival contentions in details. ISSUE NO. 2: 8. This issue on the question of maintainability of the suit arises because of the stand taken by the State of Punjab in the written statement. According to the defendant No. 1, Article 262 of the Constitution is specifically designed, authorising the Parliament to provide for adjudication of any water dispute in relation to any inter-State river by making a law in that regard and Sub-article (2) of Article 262 authorises the Parliament to make law, ousting the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court or any other Court in respect of any dispute or complaint coming within Article 262(1). The Parliament having enacted the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 and the said Act having ousted the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and any other Court from exercising jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute, which may be referred to a tribunal under the Act as provided under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Clause (i) of Section 2(c) deals with a dispute concerning the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in any inter-State river or river valley, whereas Clause (ii) deals with the interpretation of the terms of any agreement relating to the use, distribution or control such waters or the implementation of such agreement. Essentially, therefore, the dispute would be a water dispute within the meaning of Section 2(c) when the dispute is in relation to the use, distribution or control of the waters of any inter-State river or interpretation of the terms of an agreement, relating to the use distribution or control of such water or implementation of such agreement. The averments in the plaint and the relief sought for by the State of Haryana is not in the water from Ravi-Beas Project. The entire dispute centers round the question of the obligation on the part of the State of Punjab to dig the portion of SYL Canal within its territory which canal became necessary for carrying water from the project to the extent the said water has already been allocated in favour of the State of Haryana under the provision of the Punjab Reorganisation Act and the subsequent agreement between t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ded in a large quantity for irrigation in the State of Haryana and there is limited availability of water from other sources in the said State, the Union Government allotted 3.5 MAF in favour of the State of Haryana. The said notification further contained a stipulation that in the event, water in the Beas at Mandi is more or less in a particular year, the share of the State of Haryana would be increased or decreased pro-rata. It is nobody's case that water in the river Beas has decreased in the meanwhile. The existing canal system not being capable of utilizing 3.5 MAF of water allocated to the State of Haryana, the idea of having SYL Canal was mooted and ultimately agreed to. Thus the construction of SYL Canal is essentially one for the purpose of utilizing the water that has already been allotted to the share of Haryana and consequently, cannot be construed to be in any way inter-linked with the distribution or control of water of, or in any inter-State river or river valley. In the Constitution Bench decision of this Court in the case of State of Karnataka v. State of Andhra Pradesh and Ors. AIR2001SC1560 his Court considered the provisions of Article 262(2) of the Constitu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 8.60 MAF Water supply : 0.20 MAF Share of J K : .065 MAF Clause (4) of the aforesaid agreement was to the effect: (iv) The Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal project shall be implemented in a time bound manner so far as the canal and appurtenant works in the Punjab territory are concerned within a maximum period of two years from the date of signing of the agreement so that Haryana is enabled to draw its allocated share of waters. The canal capacity for the purpose of design of the canal shall be mutually agreed upon between Punjab and Haryana within 15 days, failing which it shall be 6500 cusecs, as recommended by former Chairman, Central Water Commission. 12. On the basis of the aforesaid agreement between the parties, the two suits that had been filed before this Court were withdrawn and under the agreement, the notification dated 24th of March, 1976 stood modified to the extent varied under the agreement. It ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dge. The decision of this Tribunal will be rendered within six months and would be binding on both parties. All legal and constitutional steps required in this respect be taken expeditiously. 9.3 The construction of the SYL canal shall continue. The canal shall be completed by 15th August, 1986. 14. Paragraph (9.1) of the accord reaffirms the share which the States were getting from the Ravi-Beas system on 1.7.1985. Paragraph (9.2) relates to the claim of both the States regarding their share in the remaining water which was sought to be referred for adjudication to a tribunal to be presided over by a Judge of the Supreme Court and Paragraph (9.3) was in relation to the construction of SYL Canal. The terms and conditions of the settlement contained in paragraph 9 were recognized by the Parliament and an amendment was inserted to the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 by Act 20 of 1986, under which Section 14 was added to the said Act. Section 14 with its explanation may be extracted herein-below in extenso: Section 14: Constitution of Ravi and Beas Water Tribunal:- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erred to the tribunal, which has passed in interim Award and no final decision has been given. The Parliament, therefore, having referred the matters of dispute under paragraphs 9.1 and 9.2 to a tribunal under the Inter-State Waters Disputes Act and refraining from referring the dispute of construction of SYL Canal contained in paragraph 9.3. of the Settlement, is indicative of the fact that the construction of the SYL Canal has absolutely no connection with the sharing of water between the States and as such is not a Water Dispute within the meaning of Section 2(c) and consequently the question of referring such dispute to a tribunal does not arise. In this view of the matter, howsoever wide meaning the expression water dispute in Section 2(c) of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act be given, the construction of the canal which is the subject matter of dispute in the present suit cannot be held to be a water dispute within the meaning of Section 2(c) of the Act and as such, such a suit is not barred under Article 262 of the Constitution read with Section 11 of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act. The aforesaid issue must be answered against the defendant and in favour of the pl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... August, 2001, we passed the following order: This suit by the State of Haryana is for issuance of a mandatory injunction to the State of Punjab and/or the Union of India (UOI) to complete construction of the unfinished SYL canal. In the written statement filed by the Union of India, there is a positive averment that construction of SYL canal is solely the responsibility of the Government of Punjab and the Union of India has made all efforts including financial assistance to the State of Punjab for early completion of the canal and further the Government of India will continue to play its role with the settlement of the disputes between the two States. In course of his submissions, learned ASG appearing for the Union of India on instructions states, that the UOI is still willing to negotiate for arriving at a settlement between the two States. In view of the several agreements between the two States, at the intervention of the Prime Minister of India, and the SYL canal having been substantially completed for which more than ₹ 600 crores of tax-payers' money has been spent and in view of offer made by the learned ASG, we observe that notwithstanding hearing o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... old and during this half century, several developments have taken place, which have moulded the working of the Constitution and brought out several difficulties in its working and has provoked a number of controversies. In the pre-independence politics in this country, the Congress Party was committed to secure more powers for the provinces. But soon after independence, the political scenario changed and the need for power sharing devices was subordinated to the imperatives of State's security and stability. Weakness and lack of confidence propelled the thrust towards centralisation. Unity of the country was perceived as a paramount need. The partition of the country and the events that followed in its aftermath, were events between commencement and completion of work of the Constitution Assembly. These events have left indelible imprint in several of its provisions including the scheme of distribution of legislative power. The second Report of 5th July, 1947 of the Union of Constitution Committee having taken note of the facts then prevalent, unequivocally recorded that weak center would be injurious to the interests of the country. The said Report states: We ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... art of the State of Punjab prior to its formation, any denial to get the allocated quantity of water for being utilized in the State of Haryana would be a deprivation of their rights under Article 21 and the State has been compelled to file the suit mainly because the mighty Union with all its power under the constitution as well as the power derived from the citizens of the country, has failed to discharge its constitutional obligation either in persuading the recalcitrant State of Punjab to get the canal dug and failing persuasion, to get it executed otherwise. 22. Dr. Dhawan, appearing for the State of Punjab in this connection submitted that the digging of SYL Canal is highly sensitive political issue, connected to the conditions of turmoil and uncertainty which prevailed in the State of Punjab as already stated in the written statement. According to him ever-since the day of inauguration of digging of canal by the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the farmers of Punjab boiled with resentment and physically interfered with the digging of canal. Such popular resentment still prevailed in the State of Punjab which culminated in the unfortunate event leading to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt owners and when the Union government is keeping silence over the matter, as is apparent from the fact that notwithstanding our order on the close of the arguments, there has been no intimation to us from the Union Government through its counsel learned Additional Solicitor General, we will be failing in our duty of we do not notice faithfully what transpired in course of hearing. Initially, to our query as to the role and the stand of the Union Government, the counsel who was appearing for the Union Government, candidly stated that the Union has no role to play in the dispute between the two states and such a stand on the part of the Union Government would not be appreciated by the Court while hearing the matter. It is only when the Court expressed its disapproval to the stand taken by the Union Government, learned Additional Solicitor General appeared and initially prayed for an adjournment of hearing of the suit so as to enable the Union government to play its role effectively. As we had already started hearing of the suit and had by then heard for a considerable period, when we found it not possible to adjourn the matter, we heard learned Additional Solicitor General and then ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... veral proposals for sharing of water had been mooted, but ultimately the proposal for a partition with a territorial division of rivers, giving to India the exclusive use of the three Eastern Rivers (Sutlej, Beas and Ravi) and to Pakistan the use of the waters of the three Western Rivers was accepted, and an Indus Water Treaty was entered into between India and Pakistan. Government of India had to pay a contribution which was fixed at 62.5 million Pounds to Pakistan. Development of river water resources for purposes of irrigation and generation of hydro-electric power has been progressing steadily since independence. many multipurpose river valley schemes have been executed on interstate rivers. In many of these projects the states have cooperated in jointly developing the river concerned in an integrated manner, thus deriving the optimum benefits out of a river. But notwithstanding the same the existence of friction amongst the States, through which river flows continues and such friction between two States or two or more States has been continuing on account of lack of political will at the central level to deal with the problem with determination. The lack of interstate cooperat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r of severe public criticism. To avoid any further embarrassment and criticism we expect that the Central Government would do well in filling up the vacancies in the Tribunal and the Tribunal also would do well in concluding the proceeding before it, as expeditiously as possible. 25. Coming to the question of construction of SYL canal, it appears that way back in January 29, 1955 in a meeting called by the Government of India of all the concerned States a decision had been taken, allocation 5.90 MAF in favour of undivided State of Punjab. We are not concerned with the allocation made in favour of other States, like, Rajasthan Kashmir and Pepsu. Several projects had been taken like Madhopur Beas Link, Madhopur Head works with the idea that the water from river Beas is diverted and is available for the utilisation to the States of undivided Punjab and Rajasthan at Harike. The government had also proposed Beas Project Unit I and Unit II which comprised of Beas Sutlej Link and this project had started much before reorganisation and division of the undivided Punjab. Since no river was flowing within the State of Haryana and the State had no other water resources, even befor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that out of the water which would have become available to the erstwhile State of Punjab on completion of the Beas Project (0.12 MAF whereof is earmarked for Delhi Water Supply), the State of Haryana will get 3.5 MAF and the State of Punjab will get the remaining quantity not exceeding 3.5 MAF. When further conservation works on the Ravi are completed, Punjab will get 3.5 of 7.2 MAF which is the share of the erstwhile State of Punjab. The remaining 0.08 MAF, out of 7.2 MAF is recommended as additional quantum of water for Delhi water supply for acceptance by both the Governments of Punjab and Haryana. AND WHEREAS the above allocation on completion of the Beas Project is based on the 1921-45 flow series corresponding to availability of 11.24 MAF in the Beas of Mandi Plain (after allowing for 1.61 MAF as pre-partition uses) and the availability of 4.61 MAF in the Ravi after allowing for pre-partition uses and losses in the Madhopur Beas Link. AND WHEREAS the fluctuations in the Ravi flow have a very small effect on the availability of water of completion of the Beas Project; 26. Even prior to the aforesaid Notification issued by the Govern ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... but finally the Government of India made the determination by issuing a Notification on 24th March, 1976, as already stated. The State of Haryana could draw its share in the surplus Ravi-Beas waters from Bhakra Nangal complex on the river Sutlej where the supplies of Ravi and Beas are available and that is why the proposal for construction of SYL Canal had been mooted, part of the canal being in the State of Punjab. The State of Haryana all along has been insisting for the completion of SYL canal and has been requesting the State of Punjab and the Central Government reiterating inter alia that the large arid tract of Haryana an several drought prone areas would need water badly and, therefore unless the allocated share of water is allowed to be diverted by digging an additional Link canal, as the existing main line canal will not be in a position to get the water allocated to Haryana, for being utilised though the said canal. Though the State of Haryana started constructing the canal within its territory in 1976 and completed the same by June 1980, and a huge amount has been spent on that score but the construction of canal within the territory of Punjab was a non starter. When th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in a maximum period of two years from the date of signing of the agreement so that Haryana is enabled to draw its allocated share of waters. The canal capacity for the purpose of design of the canal shall be mutually agreed upon between Punjab and Haryana within 15 days, failing which it shall be 6500 cusecs as recommended by former Chairman, Central Water Commission. Regarding the claim of Rajasthan to convey 0.51 MAF of water through Sutlej-Yamuna Link Bhakhra system, Secretary, Ministry of Irrigation, Government of India will hold discussion with Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan with a view to reaching an acceptable solution. These discussions shall be concluded in a period of 15 days from the date of affixing signatures herein and before the work starts. If no mutually acceptable agreement is reached, the decision of Secretary, Ministry of Irrigation to be given within this period shall be binding on all the parties. In case it is found necessary to increase the capacity of Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal beyond that decided under above sub-para in any or entire reach thereof, the States concerned shall implement the link canal in a time bound manner with such increased capa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this respect the Central Government shall be competent to issue such directions or take such measures as may be appropriate and ensure such compliance. vi. The suits filed by the Government of Haryana and Punjab in the Supreme Court would be withdrawn by the respective Governments without any reservations whatsoever but subject to the terms of this agreement. viii. The notification of the Government of India allocating the waters becoming available as a result of the Beas Project issued on 24th March, 1976, and published in the Gazette of India, Part II, sections, the Section (ii) as well as the 1966 Agreement stand modified to the extent by this Agreement and shall be in force as modified herein. In case of any difference on interpretation of this Agreement, the matter will be referred to the Central Government whose decision shall be final. Order dated February 12, 1982:- In these suits, the plaintiffs namely, Government of Punjab and Haryana have filed petitions for withdrawal of suits as the dispute between the States have been settled between the parties and they are permitted to withdraw the suits in view of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... djudication to a tribunal, to be presided by a Judge of the Supreme Court, paragraph 9.3 unequivocally indicated that construction of SYL Canal shall continue and shall be completed by 15th of August, 1986. It is true, as is contended by Dr. Rajiv Dhawan that the aforesaid agreement was entered into by Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, the then President of the Shiromani Akali Dal and as such, has no constitutional sanctity to bind the State of Punjab. But having regard to the fact that in terms of paragraphs 9.1 and 9.2, a tribunal was constituted and even the provisions of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act were amended, thereby granting Parliamentary recognition to the so-called agreement, the terms of the said agreement cannot be thrown out as a piece of paper only. The tribunal, as stated earlier, submitted its report on 30th of January, 1987 and even though the construction of canal was not a matter of reference to the tribunal, but yet the tribunal took notice of the fact that the SYL Canal construction is complete within the State of Haryana and is under construction in the Punjab area and it also noticed the fact that this canal is the lifeline for the farmers of Haryana and u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ople that matters. But at the same time when the political authority becomes dogmatic, unreasonable and indicates an attitude of irresponsible nature and when the court finds that nothing is moving even though there has been a large-scale drainage of public exchequer and that the decision to have the canal had been reached on an agreement of all concerned, representing the will of the people, the Court must pass appropriate orders and directions. What really bothers us most is the functioning of the political parties, who assume power to do whatever that suits and whatever would catch the vote-bank. They forget for a moment that the constitution conceives of a Government to be manned by the representatives of the people, who get themselves elected in an election. The decisions taken at the governmental level should not be so easily nullified by a change of government and by some other political party assuming power, particularly when such a decision affects some other State and the interest of the nation as a whole. It cannot be disputed that so far as policy is concerned, a political party assuming power is entitled to engraft the political philosophy behind the party ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the two projects which stood included have been mentioned to be Beas (Unit I and II) and Bhakra Nangal, and therefore, it would not be legal or equitable to bring within its concept any other project or river water for the purpose of the sharing between the two States. The learned counsel also contended that non-mention of the Thein (now Ranjit Sagar) Dam or Madhopur Beas Link, is sufficient to indicate that those projects are to serve different purposes between different States and the same cannot be brought by implication since some aspects of it have been mentioned in the Beas Project. Dr. Dhawan concedes that in the Project Report, the expression integrated development has been used but a distinction must be drawn between the allocation of share of water from different rivers and integrated development of the projects. According to the learned counsel, integrated development is distinct from independent allocation of share of water and this being the position, the entire basis on which the State of Haryana has filed the suit for completion of the SYL Canal falls through. Dr. Dhawan also went to the extent of arguing that an order passed by the Central Government under Sectio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... guments as well as in his written submissions referred to those averments made in the written statement of the State of Punjab, indicating the turmoil situation through which the State has passed and on that basis tried to emphasise the fact that any order or direction from the Court to construct the canal within the territory of Punjab would again bring an uncanny situation in the State and therefore, this Court should resist from issuing any such order or direction which may not be in the national interest. Having given anxious consideration to the submissions made by Dr. Dhawan, appearing for the State of Punjab, we are of the considered opinion that those submissions are of no consequence and there could not be any fetter on the power of this Court to issue appropriate directions. We have already indicated the genesis of the construction of SYL Canal as well as the allocation of water in favour of the State of Haryana and the agreements entered into between the States in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of the earlier suits filed in this Court. The State Governments having entered into agreements among themselves o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct the defendant-State of Punjab to continue the digging of Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal, portion of which has not been completed as yet and make the canal functional within one year from today. We also direct the Government of India -- defendant No. 2 to discharge its constitutional obligation in implementation of the aforesaid direction in relation to the digging of canal and if within a period of one year the SYL Canal is not completed by the defendant-State of Punjab, then the Union Government should get it done through its own agencies as expeditiously as possible, so that the huge amount of money that has already been spent and that would yet to be spent, will not be wasted and the plaintiff-State of Haryana would be able to draw the full quantity of water that has already been allotted to its share. Needless to mention, the direction to dig SYL Canal should not be construed by the State of Haryana as a license to permit them to draw water in excess of the water that has already been allotted and in the event the tribunal, which is still considering the case of re-allotment of the water, grants any excess water to the State of Haryana, then it may also consider issuing appropriat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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