PunjabChief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday directed the Water ResourcesDepartment to identify more areas for relining of canals to check seepage andsave the precious water resource.
Underliningthe need for urgent replacement of 72 abandoned tubewells in the Kandi belt toaugment irrigation facilities in the region, the Chief Minister directed ChiefSecretary Vini Mahajan to allocate the necessary funds for these on priority.
Reviewingthe works of the department through virtual conference, the Chief Ministerasked the department to expedite the ongoing canal relining projects, includingthe relining of Rajasthan Feeder (41 km), Sirhind Feeder (45 km), as well asthe rehabilitation of Bis Doab Canal system and Banur Canal system.
Whilesignificant progress has been made on these projects, the balance work shouldbe speeded up, he said.
Pointingout that 33 new schemes, worth Rs 473.15 crore, had been included in the budget2021-22 having the total outlay of Rs 156.48 crore, the Chief Minister saidthat the relining works were a major priority for his government in view of thestate's depleting water resources.
TheChief Minister was informed that rehabilitation of Kandi canal stage 1,renovation and modernization of regulator structures and rehabilitation,renovation and modernization of Lahore branch system along with allies works indistricts of Gurdaspur and Amritsar were partly executed, while the remainingwill carried out in the current and next fiscal.
Punjabhas a total canal network length of 14,500 kilometers. In the year 2021,approx. 2,800 km drains will be cleaned for Rs 40 crores and flood protectionworks amounting to Rs 60 cr will be executedA before the onset of monsoon.
Workto release 200 cusecs of fresh water into Budha Nallah from Sirhind Canalthrough Neelon escape in order to reduce the pollution in Budha Nallah withestimated cost of Rs 8.95 crores is under progress, the department furtherapprised the meeting.
Further,the Chief Minister was apprised that 65 per cent of the work on the mainShahpurkandi Dam, which was restarted after over four years of suspension bythe Jammu and Kashmir government, had been completed.
Thework of powerhouse has been started and civil works will be completed by June2023 and power works will be completed by July 2024. Power generation of theproject will start in August 2024, yielding direct benefit to the tune of Rs800 crore.