The Punjab government has fully geared up to guard the state against prospective floods, with Mr Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Irrigation Minister, Punjab today directed all the senior officers of the Drainage Department to complete all Flood Protection works in the month of May and June, 2013 to avoid any eventuality. Presiding over a high level meeting with the senior officer of the Drainage Department, he also gave his nod for allocation of Rs 51 crore for Flood Protection works, to be commenced in each district.
Mr. Sekhon directed the officers to follow the proper procedure of tendering and to assign contracts of Flood Protection Works to the reputed Contractors so that quality and quantity of the work could be ensured in stipulated time period. The Minister asked the officers to complete Flood Protection Works under the supervision of MLA and DC concerned.
Mr. Sekhon also directed the officers to ensure their attendance in the offices and in case they are on tours proper entry must be marked in the tour registers. “I myself along with Principal Secretary of the Department would conduct tours of the different area of the state to inspect the progress of the Flood Protection Works” said Mr. Sekhon. The Minister said that as per the directions of the Chief Minister, Punjab it must be ensured that embankments of the drains up to 20 feet nearby area must not erode.
To ensure that the flow of the drain is not affected by the mining activities, the minister directed the concerned Executive Engineer to coordinate with the industry department. Mr Sekhon also assured the officers of the department that they would not be deputed on election duty due to heavy workload.Prominent amongst other present in the meeting included Mr. K.B.S. Sidhu, Principal Secretary and Mr. Vinod Chowdhary, Chief Engineer, Drainage besides all Superintendent Engineers and Executive Engineers of the Department.