Patiala Mayor Amarinder Singh Bajaj operates JCB machines pressed into service by youth activists of Shiromani Akali Dal for filling Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal near Banu Chandigarh road (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court cannot remain a spectator when the Punjab government passes a law to make a judgment of this court unexecutable.

Making this strong observation a five-judge Bench Constitution Bench ordered status quo on the law passed by Punjab on March 14 for return of lands acquired from farmers for the construction of Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.

Meanwhile, the standoff over the SYL canal escalated further as the dispute threatened to embroil Delhi whose Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal opposed construction of the canal.

Mr Kejriwal was the target of sharp attacks by two senior ministers of Haryana, O.P. Dhankar (Agriculture) and Capt Abhimanyu (Finance). Mr Dhankar, in a letter to Kejriwal, asked him to “get his own canal constructed for carrying Delhi’s share of water with your efforts.”

“Haryana gets Delhi’s 0.2 MAF share through the Bhakra Main Line from Punjab which then reaches Delhi through Narwana Branch and Western Yamuna canal Dhankar said that besides Haryana also transfers 330 cusec of Yamuna water through the Western Yamuna canal to Delhi. “Haryana is not able to lift its share of 498 cusec of water,” he told Kejriwal.

Mr Dhankar said that, “Seeing your stand, Haryana will not be able to deliver your share of water to Delhi since you have stood against the interests of farmers and people of Haryana.”

“For Delhi's needs of water you may take the trouble of getting your own canal constructed from Nangal Dam and Tajewala Headwork’s (Yamunanagar) so that Delhi’s share of water reaches the national capital due to your efforts,” Dhankar said.