Punjab Water Resources and Soil & Water Conservation Minister Sh. Barinder Kumar Goyal today launched the phased implementation of an ambitious lift irrigation scheme aimed at providing irrigation facilities to villages in the Nurpur Bedi block.
The project, inaugurated at Village Chhajja, has an estimated cost of Rs.650 crore. Addressing the large gathering of residents from various villages of the Nurpur Bedi block, the Cabinet Minister said that the villages in the region had remained deprived of adequate irrigation facilities for agriculture since Independence.
To address this longstanding issue, four possible options were examined, including sourcing water from the Nangal Reservoir and the Sutlej River, drawing water from the crossings of the ASHC and NHC canals and constructing dams across choes and rivers to conserve rainwater.
The Cabinet Minister said that under this plan, clusters comprising eight to 14 villages are being formed to develop small-scale lift irrigation schemes and ensure water supply according to the requirements of farmers. In addition, plans have been prepared to construct check dams across choes and rivers to conserve rainwater and supply it to agricultural fields through gravity flow.
He said that the project would also help channelise the Swan River, protect nearby villages from flooding and conserve substantial quantities of water. The stored water would subsequently be utilised for irrigation, providing a major boost to agriculture and reducing dependence on groundwater.
The Cabinet Minister said that the most suitable approach for providing irrigation facilities to 102 villages would be to implement lift irrigation schemes based on Sutlej water along with the construction of dams on the Swan River. Sh. Goyal further said that the project has an estimated cost of Rs.650 crore.
As part of the first phase, lift irrigation facilities have already been initiated for nine villages covering an area of 2,785 acres. In the subsequent phases, irrigation facilities would be extended to the remaining villages. Addressing the gathering, MLA Advocate Dinesh Chadha said that for the first time, the flood-prone Nurpur Bedi region would receive canal water.
He said that the Sutlej and seasonal streams had so far caused damage to farmers' land during floods. However, the lift irrigation scheme would now provide significant relief to farmers and ensure the productive utilisation of water resources.
The MLA said that previous governments had neither conducted the required surveys nor prepared any concrete irrigation plan for the region despite the potential to utilise Sutlej water having existed for a long time.
He also apprised the local residents of the details of the scheme and said that it would prove to be a boon for farmers by ensuring irrigation water supply to all villages of the Nurpur Bedi block.