Chandigarh, Jan. 25 -- Haryana and Punjab chief ministers will hold another round of talks on January 27 in Chandigarh to work out a solution to resolve the contentious issue of completion of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal. The last such meeting, the fourth one, between Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann was held on July 9 last year in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union jal shakti minister CR Patil. The bilateral talks between the two states are being held on the directions of the Supreme Court with the Central government acting as an intermediary. The SYL Canal is a contentious, partially built 212-km canal project for sharing Ravi-Beas waters between Punjab and Haryana, crucial for Haryana's irrigation but stalled due to Punjab's water scarcity concerns, leading to decades of legal disputes, with the Supreme Court urging resolution and the Centre mediating ongoing talks between the states. Conceived in 1978 the canal consisted of two segments, a 91km channel in Haryana and a 121km carrier channel in Punjab. Haryana completed its portion of the channel in 1979 at a cost of Rs.56 crore, but Punjab has failed to complete the canal in its territory despite Supreme Court directions. The Supreme Court had on May 6 last year directed the two states to cooperate with the central government in arriving at an amicable solution. "In case the issue is not resolved amicably between the parties, we propose to take up the matter on August 13, 2025," the apex court had said. The top court in its recent January 12 hearing had adjourned the matter for April 8 "hoping that in the meantime, the matter would be resolved between the parties". "Needless to state, on the date fixed, the matter would be taken up and decided on merits. List the application on April 8, 2026 at 2 pm," noted a three-judge bench headed by Justice MM Sundresh. The Haryana government is pressing for the implementation of apex court's orders to complete the remaining portion of the canal by Punjab. The apex court in its January 15, 2002, and June 4, 2004, judgments had ordered completion of the remaining portion of canal in the Punjab territory.Punjab, on the other hand, had contended that the state did not have spare water to share with any other state, reiterating a review of water availability and non-availability of land for the SYL Canal....