Punjab chalks out plan to construct new canal for southern Malwa Districts

Chandigarh, August 25, 2023: Punjab Water Resources Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Friday met his Rajasthan counterpart Mahendrajit Singh Malviya. He apprised the Rajasthan Minister that Punjab Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government is planning to construct a new canal along with the Rajasthan Feeder Canal on the land of Rajasthan for exclusively Punjab’s southern districts of Malwa region to ensure the canal water supply for the tail end farmers. Punjab has planned to build the proposed canal.

After the meeting, Meet Hayer said that the Rajasthan Water Resources Minister agreed to the proposal of Punjab regarding constructing a new canal so that canal water irrigation facility ramped up in Southern Malwa’s four districts of Fazilka, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Bathinda and Faridkot. He said that Rajasthan has given in-principal approval and now, a formal written proposal will be sent for the same.

Meet Hayer asked the Water Resources Department officials of draft a proposal and send it to the Rajasthan government at the earliest to fulfill the commitment of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann to ensure the canal water to the tail end farmers of Punjab. He also said that during the meeting, he expressed the inability of the Punjab government on Rajasthan's demand for more water as if the more water release to Rajasthan, the water level at Harike will have to be increased due to which the Doaba region will come under heavy floods. This is not possible under current circumstances.

Principal Secretary Water Resources Krishna Kumar was also present on this occasion.