The completion of Social Impact Assessment(SIA) Study Report 2025 of additional land acquisition of approx. 270 acres for the construction of Malwa Canal in Districts of Ferozepur, Faridkot and Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, is a mandatory requirement under section 4.1 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (herein after the RFCTLARR Act, 2013).
It is over and above of initial Malwa Canal Land Acquisition (2024), involvingapprox. 552.42 acres for which SIA Report 2024 has already been ‘accepted by the Govt. of Punjab and the SIA Report Malwa Canal 2024 is available on Govt. of Punjab’s website:https://faridkot.nic.in/sia-report-malwa-2024/ .
Prof. (Dr.) Karamjeet Singh, Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University presided over the SIA Study Report 2025 handing over ceremony in presence of the representatives of WRD, Govt. of Punjab in his office on 12 May 2025. In his congratulatory message, he said, “ This SIA Study is a testament to the commitment of our academic community to contribute meaningfully to state-building and policy implementation.
The Malwa Canal project with its potential to bring transformative change by enhancing irrigation capacity, reducing groundwater dependence, improving food and water security, and enabling sustainable development is of strategic importance to Punjab and the nation.” He added further that the report highlights the concerns and vulnerabilities of affected communities, notably those requiring rehabilitation and resettlement support.
The present SIA Study 2025 for Additional Land Acquisition of 270 acres for the construction of Malwa Canal, is of the view that the field study and Public Hearings conducted in villages falling under seven Tehsils and three districts of Ferozepur, Faridkot and Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, between 25 March 2025 to 04 April 2025 has established that the Malwa Canal Project fulfils the required “Public Purpose” clause under section 4.1 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The SIA Study Report 2025 determined that additional 270 acres of proposed land acquisition is the bare minimum required as idea of rerouting the canal is technically, scientifically and economically non-viable and non-feasible. The SIA Study Report 2025 is completed under the SIA Coordinator Prof.(Dr.) Rajesh Kumar, Principal Project Coordinator, SIA Agency, GNDU, Amritsar.
The SIA team receives valuable inputs from additional six subject experts: Prof. (Dr.) Manpreet Singh Bhatti, Deptt. of Botany and Environment Sciences, Dr. Bimaldeep Singh, Associate Professor, Deptt. of Laws,Dr. Swati Mehta, Asstt. Prof., Punjab School of Economics, Dr. Nirmala Devi and Dr. Aditya Parihar from Department of Sociology, and Dr. Sharanpreet Kaur from School of Social Sciences.
The SIA Coordinator acknowledges the contributions of every single person including scholars, field investigators and secretarial staff from School of Social Sciences and Department of Sociology, GNDU, Amritsar in completion ofthe project.