Chandigarh:- Now there will be official level talks between Punjab and Haryana on the issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal. This decision was taken in a meeting held between the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana here today. The meeting lasted for about an hour between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Naib Singh Saini. After the meeting, both the Chief Ministers spoke about the fruitful results on this issue in a joint press conference. Both the Chief Ministers said that today's fruitful talks have taken place in a comfortable atmosphere.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that now continuous official level talks will start on the issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal and the officials of both the states will share the details of the meetings, on the basis of which the Chief Ministers of both the states will hold further talks. The Chief Minister said that the official level talks will be with the intention of finding a solution to the issue. He wants the old pending issue to be resolved.
Chief Minister Mann said that no one's right should be sacrificed. He said that this is a complicated issue of old elders. Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini said that the results of the talks held today in a good atmosphere will also be meaningful. Saini said that in the coming days, official level talks will start on this matter, on the basis of which progress will be made.
Chief Minister Mann, in response to a question about the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal, said that first the issue of water should be resolved, we will also build the canal. Mann said that both the states have put forward their respective positions in the meeting today. No concrete result came out in the sixth round of meeting between Punjab and Haryana. The fact that both the Chief Ministers held a joint press conference and that neither side was seen making old-fashioned claims about water, makes it clear that the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana are treading lightly in view of the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
The Centre has already run away from mediation between Punjab and Haryana and the Centre had advised both the states to sit down and resolve the matter among themselves. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was in a meeting with his 16-member team for bilateral discussions. Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal and Principal Secretary Krishan Kumar were also present in the meeting with him. Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini was also present along with officials.
The last meeting between the Chief Ministers of both the states was held on 5 August 2025. It may be recalled that in the meeting of the Northern Zonal Council held in Faridabad on 17 November 2025, all the issues related to river waters were postponed by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had presented a new formula in the fourth round meeting held on 9 July 2025 that after the Indus Water Treaty is abrogated, Chenab water should be given to Punjab on a preferential basis.
Punjab currently requires 52 MAF of water while Punjab is getting 26.75 MAF of ground and canal water. Out of 153 blocks in the state, 115 blocks have gone into the red zone. Looking back, the first meeting between the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana was held on August 18, 2020 and the second meeting was held in Chandigarh on October 14, 2022.
Similarly, the third meeting was held in Delhi on January 4, 2023 and the fourth meeting was held in July and the last meeting was held on August 5, 2025. Out of the total 214 km long Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal, the construction of 122 km of the section in Punjab is pending. The Supreme Court had asked Punjab in January 2002 to build the canal as per the water agreement.
The then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had repealed the 1981 agreement by passing a law in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 2004, while the Supreme Court had repealed the law passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 2016. Haryana has filed a petition in the Supreme Court for the construction of the SYL Canal.