Desilting of Tangri, Markanda and Begna Rivers Underway to Boost Flood Protection: Minister Shruti Choudhry

5 Dariya News

Chandigarh 27-Feb-2026

Haryana’s Irrigation and Water Resources Minister, Smt. Shruti Choudhry, clarified in response to a question asked in the Assembly that there is no fixed practice of carrying out annual desilting of rivers before every monsoon season in the state. She stated that in recent years, continuous heavy rainfall and flood situations have led to large-scale accumulation of silt in the rivers. 

Keeping this in view, desilting work was undertaken during 2025 as a special developmental activity to enhance the water carrying capacity of the Tangri and Markanda rivers and to reduce the risk of floods. Before June 30, 2025, approximately 5.50 lakh cubic meters of soil was removed from the Tangri river and about 37,500 cubic meters from the Markanda river.

In addition, prior to the monsoon of 2026, it has been proposed to remove approximately 53.85 lakh cubic meters, 10.94 lakh cubic meters, and 0.60 lakh cubic meters of silt from the Tangri, Markanda, and Begna rivers, respectively. The tendering process for these works is currently underway.