ML Khattar makes offer of dialogue to Bhagwant Mann on SYL canal issue

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday reached out to his Punjab counterpart on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link issue, making an offer of a dialogue to resolve "any hurdle or obstacles" hindering the canal construction.

Haryana is willing to engage in a dialogue, notwithstanding the Punjab government's stand that it will not share a single drop of additional water with any other state at any cost, Khattar said in his letter to Bhagwant Mann.

He cited a Supreme Court order to say that "a comprehensive order on October 4, explicitly stating that the execution is not related to the allocation of water."

The Supreme Court had on October 4 asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab which was allocated for the construction of part of the SYL canal in the state and make an estimate of the extent of construction carried out there.

All political parties in Punjab asserted that the state does not have a single drop of additional water to share with any other state, though political outfits in Haryana welcomed the apex court directions.