Decision to denotify SYL canal land a half-measure:Channi

Punjab Congress Legislature Party chief Charanjit Singh Channi today said the decision of the Parkash Singh Badal government to de-notify the land acquired for the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project was only "half-measure".
"It (de-notification of SYL canal project land) is half- measure...The real issue is restoring ownership rights over Sutlej, Beas and Ravi waters back to the state," he said here.
He said the de-notification was nothing but continuation of the same method resorted to earlier that was stayed by the Supreme Court.
Earlier today, the Punjab Cabinet decided to denotify the land acquired for the SYL canal project with immediate effect and return it to its owners free of charge.

"The Badal government has only tried to buy time till election through this half-measure that would again invite legal intervention with Punjab gaining nothing. The state government had earlier too adopted the legislation to return land to the farmers," he said.
Channi slammed the Badal Government for not having any agenda for the Special Assembly Session convened tomorrow.

"None of the members (MLAs) have been given any genda,... Everybody has been kept in complete dark about the session," he said.
A special session of the Punjab Assembly has been convened in the wake of the Supreme Court declaring as "unconstitutional" the 2004 law enacted by the state government to terminate the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal water sharing agreement with neighbouring states.

If the SAD and BJP were true to the people of Punjab on SYL they should fall in line with the Congress legislatures and resign rather than calling and attending the Special Session, he said.
The CLP chief alleged that the Centre would not allow any relief to Punjab even through judiciary as the two other states- Haryana and Rajasthan- are BJP ruled.
"At one level, the present verdict is political", he alleged.
Channi challenged chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to end Akali Dal's alliance with the BJP in case the CM was really sincere in protecting the interests of Punjab.

"Badal does not want to confront the BJP government for vested family interests," he alleged.