Raman Mohan
Like everything else that is overexploited, the SYL Canal row too is subject to the law of diminishing returns. For some 20 odd years, this controversy did give a decisive edge to the party that succeeded in raising passions of the populace over this issue. But the ill-fated project lost that potential a long time ago.

DSP Rajpura R S Sohal briefing the anti-riot police deployed along the SYL canal near Rajpura. A public notice has been put up by the police after the Supreme Court order on maintaining status quo, thus barring any activity on the SYL canal Tribune Photo: Manoj Mahajan

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal appears intent on riding the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal horse in order to romp home in the next assembly poll due in about a year. Towards that end, he has taken on the Supreme Court even by refusing to accept its order to maintain status quo on the land acquired for the construction of the canal through a resolution passed by the legislative assembly. That shows his resolve not to let go of the canal row under any circumstances till the 2017 election. Having spent a life time in politics, the senior Badal may well be risking all in what could turn out to be his last bid at the office of the Chief Minister of Punjab.  Ever since Haryana came into being in 1966, the canal issue has been used by politicians of both states for electoral gains. For some 20 odd years, this controversy did give a decisive edge to the party that succeeded in raising passions of the populace over this issue. But the ill-fated project lost that potential a long time ago.The last time this issue was tested for its political potency was in 2004. In June that year, the apex court directed Punjab to complete the work in its territory. However, on July 12, 2004, the then Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had the Punjab Assembly pass The Punjab Termination of Agreements Bill, 2004, thus terminating its water-sharing agreements, and effectively stopping the construction of the canal in Punjab. But, this did not improve the chances of the Congress in the next assembly poll in 2007. The Congress lost and the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine came to power. Since then, the canal as a political tool had been gathering dust till it was suddenly rescued from oblivion by the Punjab Chief Minister as his weapon of choice for the impending electoral battle.So far as the people of Haryana are concerned, the issue of the canal is no longer an issue that will decide the fate of an election. The SYL Canal issue lost its emotional and political potency with the eclipse of the maverick Devi Lal, former Deputy Prime Minister. The last time the people of Haryana attached importance to this issue was in 1985, after the Rajiv Gandhi-Harchand Singh Longowal accord was signed. The late Devi Lal, who was in political wilderness then after being completely outplayed by that master practitioner of realpoltik the late Bhajan Lal grabbed the chance offered by the accord and launched an agitation which swept him to power in 1987. That was the last election in which the SYL Canal issue had played a decisive role, so much so that months before the election the then Chief Minister Bansi Lal took panches and sarpanches to SYL project sites in Punjab to see the progress of construction.In the 1991 elections, the failure of the Devi Lal clan to run a government for a full five-year term was the main issue not the SYL Canal or other territorial disputes. Similarly, in 1996, the people put their faith in Bansi Lal mainly due to his promise to ban liquor in Haryana. Since then, the people of the two states have attached little importance to the SYL Canal. This indifference towards the project is more pronounced in Haryana than in Punjab. Psychologically, the farmers of Haryana appear to have resigned to their fate. Streetwise as they are, they know by now that whatever their chosen politicians say about the canal, the project is not going to materialise. A farmer put it succinctly: We are not losing something we had. So, it is a lesser loss considering the lost asset was never in our hands. In Punjab, there is a subtle psychological difference. By and large, farmers know that they stand to gain nothing should Punjab abandon this project. Already they are utilising whatever is available from the rivers. Additionally, they are pumping out underground water at an alarming rate. So, the Punjab farmers do not stand to gain substantially from abandoning the project. There are several other reasons why the SYL Canal figures nowhere in the list of priorities of the voters in Haryana. The change in the demographic pattern has a lot to do with the relegation of this issue to the back burner. In Haryana, over 65 per cent of voters are under the age of 35. The SYL Canal is an issue they have just heard of. They have heard politicians cry themselves hoarse over this issue but this generation does not relate to the issue in the same way as their elders did. Besides, the new generation is losing interest in agriculture itself. They are more interested in jobs rather than in more water for their already fragmented land holdings. Demographic patterns and land holdings have changed in Punjab too just as much as in Haryana. Rampant corruption, unemployment, the problem of drug addiction, financial mess and lack of industry and infrastructure are far more important and closer to voters in Punjab than the SYL Canal.  As a result, the SYL Canal issue is now close to the hearts of political parties and their leaders only not the man on the street. No wonder then that Badal’s moves have failed to evoke any reaction among the people of Haryana which could have provoked a reaction from the farmers of Punjab much to the glee of Badals. Of course it is different for politicians and political parties. Haryana politicians, including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, reacted meekly at first and then stridently in a bid to outdo rivals. That is likely to continue until the issue is once again buried. As against this, people in Delhi attach more importance to the project for the simple reason that that the formal death of the canal project would end all hopes of an improved supply of drinking water there in the near future. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has, therefore, erred by opposing the construction of the canal. The prospects of his party winning the next assembly poll in Punjab have obviously weighed on his mind more than the needs of the people of Delhi. He could well end up annoying voters in the national capital.Nevertheless, the political death of the canal issue does not diminish the importance of the project for Haryana at least. The water is crucial for the thirsty fields and parched throats in several districts of Haryana. The only way to come to an amicable settlement is to sit across the table, forget politics and just keep the interests of the people of the two states in mind. The leaders should keep in mind that had there been no division of Punjab, river waters would have been shared equitably among all areas. A boundary and a new name are hardly any reason not to share natural resources. If politicians of the two states can share space in Chandigarh, why not river waters? The writer is a veteran Haryana journalist.