SC orders status quo on SYL canal land

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ordered status quo on land acquired for the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal's stretch in Punjab and appointed the Union home secretary, Punjab's chief secretary and the director general of police as receivers. A bench made it clear that the receivers are solely for the purpose of submitting a report on the ground situation. The court order followed a plea made by the Haryana government seeking status quo ante in the wake of Punjab government's decision to de-notify the acquired land and restoring it to original owners. The SC had given its verdict on a Presidential reference on November 10 to hold the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 as unconstitutional. Following this, the Punjab government had de-notified nearly 5,000 acres of land acquired for the canal.