Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today gave approval for an ambitious project of rehabilitation and upgradation of Irrigation water field channels in south west Punjab at a cost of Rs.150 crore.Presiding over a high level meeting to review the progress of various irrigation projects here at Chief Minister’s Residence this morning, Mr. Badal said that this project should be taken on top priority as the field channels carrying irrigation water to the farmer’s fields in the water logged areas of south west Punjab required immediate up-gradation on account of dilapidated condition leading to water logging and water use inefficiency. Mr. Badal further said that funds to the tune of Rs.100 crore would be taken from NABARD and remaining funds of Rs.50 crore from Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) for the said purpose.
The Chief Minister directed the Irrigation department to take up this project immediately and should be completed by December 2016 so as to tap maximum irrigation potential in the south west Punjab on one hand and reduce the problem of water logging on the other.It was also decided in the meeting that 27 minors and distributaries in the south west Punjab which were in bad shape would be immediately taken up for repair, rehabilitation and remodeling at a cost of Rs.82.88 crore. Mr. Badal asked the Chief Engineer Canals to immediately prepare a project of these canals for seeking administrative and financial sanction from the government. The Chief Minister asked the Finance department to fund the rehabilitation of these canals/distributaries/minors out of state budget for which the Finance department would release a sum of Rs.8 crore every month for the next ten months.
Meanwhile, the Secretary Irrigation apprised Mr. Badal that on account of demand from Agriculture department for irrigation water to be supplied in the month of April for early sowing of cotton due to threat of whitefly, the Irrigation department could not take up annual cleaning of canals in south west Punjab especially Ferozepur feeder leading to silting of the feeder resulting in low carrying capacity of the feeder due to which inadequate water was being supplied in canals fed from Harike head-works. Taking cognizance of this entire issue, Mr. Badal asked the Secretary Irrigation and Chief Engineer Canals to immediately take corrective measures so as to enable the farmers of the region to harness full potential of canal irrigation.Prominent amongst who were present in the meeting included Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal, Principal Secretary Finance Mr. DP Reddy, Principal Secretary Forest Mr. Vishwajit Khanna, Special Principal Secretaries to CM Mr. Gagandeep Singh Brar and Mr. KJS Cheema, Secretary Expenditure Mr. Jaspal Singh, Secretary Irrigation Mr. K.S.Pannu, , MD, PIDB Mr. Deepinder Singh, MD, PWRMDC Mr. S.S.Grewal, Principal Chief Conservator Forests Mr. Kuldip Kumar and Chief Engineer, Canal Mr. J.P.Singh.