Chandigarh, March 18 – Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated on Wednesday that the government had ensured irrigation for fields equivalent to the Bhakra Canal in four years by unlocking 10,000 cusecs from seasonal rivers and reviving a collapsing canal network.
The Chief Minister said that canal irrigation coverage has increased from just 26.50% in 2022 to 78%, with long-abandoned systems like the 22-km Sarhali canal brought back to life, round-the-clock water supply ensured through the Ferozepur-Sirhind feeder, and canal water reaching 1,446 villages for the first time since Independence.
CM Mann presented a comprehensive account of the government's work in the irrigation sector over the past four years to the media here.
"A sum of Rs 6,700 crore has been spent on canal lining, repair, modernisation, and infrastructure strengthening from April 2022 until now, which is the highest ever in Punjab's history," said the Chief Minister.
He emphasised that Punjab has a total canal irrigation potential of around 75.90 lakh acres, but until March 2022, only 20.89 lakh acres, which was merely 26.5%, were actually receiving canal water.
"Today, we have increased this coverage to nearly 58 lakh acres, taking utilization to around 78%. This is almost three times the earlier figure," CM Mann said, adding that the government has ensured maximum utilization of canal water available in the state.
Detailing the scale of work undertaken on the ground, he said, "We have spent around Rs 2,000 crore to construct and restore nearly 13,000 km of canals, due to which canal water is now reaching 58 lakh acres. Along with this, around 7,000 water channels have been restored."
He added: "A total of 15,539 canals have been cleaned and 18,349 watercourses have been revived, ensuring that even tail-end agricultural fields now receive canal water."
Highlighting a major structural intervention, CM Mann said for the first time in the state's history, 101 abandoned canals spanning 545 km have been revived. Many of these canals had been closed for 30 to 40 years and even filled up with soil.
"We restored them without acquiring even a single inch of land," he said. He added that restoration of rainwater channels alone has helped bringing an additional 2.75 lakh acres under irrigation.
"By restoring old canal systems, we have ensured that an additional 10,000 cusecs of water is now reaching fields. In effect, we have created a new Bhakra canal without acquiring any land," he added.