Punjab govt expands canal network to ensure water reaches every farmer
The Punjab government on Tuesday said it is expanding the state's irrigation network with the aim of ensuring canal water reaches every farmer, including those
The Punjab government on Tuesday said it is expanding the state's irrigation network with the aim of ensuring canal water reaches every farmer, including those at the tail end of the distribution system. Irrigation Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal inaugurated a series of projects under the Kandi Canal System, saying the works will improve irrigation across nearly 1.35 lakh acres of farmland in around 450 villages of Hoshiarpur and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts. Read Full Story The minister inaugurated the Shah Nehar Feeder Project, the Shah Nehar Canal System and works related to the Ghogra distributary.
Goyal said the government aims to ensure 100 per cent canal water supply to tail-end farms, reducing farmers' dependence on groundwater for irrigation. According to the state government, canal water utilisation has increased from 22 per cent to 86 per cent under the Bhagwant Mann government, significantly improving the availability of irrigation water across Punjab. The state government said the projects are part of its broader efforts to strengthen irrigation infrastructure, improve water management and provide a more reliable water supply to the state's agricultural sector. The Punjab government has invested around Rs 7,200 crore over the past four years to modernise the state's canal network as part of a broader push to improve irrigation, revive ageing infrastructure and reduce dependence on groundwater.
According to the government, the investment has been used for canal lining, construction of watercourses, laying pipeline networks and upgrading key irrigation structures such as gates, regulators and escapes. The state claimed that canal water utilisation has increased to 78 per cent through improvements in the distribution system, benefiting farmers across Punjab. As part of its efforts to improve last-mile connectivity, the government said it has restored more than 19,300 watercourses covering over 7,400 km. In addition, around 9,200 km of new watercourses have been constructed at a cost of Rs 2,600 crore to improve water distribution and ensure more equitable access to canal irrigation.
The Punjab government said the initiative has enabled canal water to reach several areas after a gap of three to four decades, while 1,582 locations have received canal water for the first time. Ends
The BriefWire