Sangrur: As Punjab gears up for the paddy season, water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Monday said canal irrigation coverage would touch 86%, even as he renewed the state’s demand for Rs 1.4 lakh crore from Rajasthan over long-pending water dues.Goyal made the remarks while addressing the media at his office in Lehragaga on canal water supply, canal modernisation, and the Punjab govt’s claim against Rajasthan. He said Rajasthan must either release Punjab’s legitimate dues or stop using its water.He said since 1960, Rajasthan has been drawing water through the Ferozepur Feeder, however, not a single rupee has been paid. According to an agreement in the 1920s between the Bikaner princely state, undivided Punjab, and the British govt, Rajasthan had agreed to pay for water on a per-acre basis. Payments were made until 1960, but after the Indus Waters Treaty, Rajasthan continued to draw approximately 18,000 cusecs of water without making any payment.Stone laid for strengthening Ghaggar’s embankmentsEarlier, Goyal laid the foundation stone of a project worth approximately Rs 6.46 crore at Makrour Sahib to further strengthen and raise the embankments of the Ghaggar river. He said Punjab govt had earlier strengthened the Ghaggar embankments at a cost of Rs 4 crore. He said during the floods of 2025, although the Ghaggar river remained above the danger mark for 10 consecutive days, people were largely protected from its impact.Highlighting changes in Punjab’s irrigation system, Goyal said canal irrigation, which stood at 26.5 per cent in 2022, increased to 78 per cent and was expected to reach 86 per cent before the paddy transplantation season this year. He said 1,446 villages received canal water for the first time since Independence.From April 2022 till now, Rs 6,700 crore has been spent on canal lining, repair, modernisation, and strengthening of infrastructure, he said.“Punjab had the capacity to irrigate approximately 75.9 lakh acres through canal water, whereas until March 2022 only 20.89 lakh acres were being irrigated. He said about Rs 2,000 crore was spent on the construction and repair of nearly 13,000 km of canals, enabling canal water to now reach 58 lakh acres. Around 7,000 watercourses were restored, 15,539 canals were cleaned, and 18,349 water channels were rejuvenated. For the first time, 101 abandoned canals spanning 545 km were revived, many of which remained non-functional for 30 to 40 years and were filled with silt,” he said.The minister added, “The revival of seasonal streams alone helped bring 2.75 lakh acres under canal irrigation. The restoration of old canal systems ensured an additional 10,000 cusecs of water reaching the fields. In effect, the Punjab govt has created a ‘new Bhakra canal’ without acquiring any land, as this is equivalent to the flow capacity of the Bhakra Main Line. The Sirhind Canal was upgraded, increasing its capacity by 2,844 cusecs, and that lining of major canals such as Sirhind and Patiala enhanced water availability by approximately 1.5 MAF.“On disaster management and environmental restoration, he said Rs 477 crore was spent from the State Disaster Response Fund on 195 projects aimed at flood control and water management. He said a total of 199 desilting sites were identified, and new chain-mounted machines were deployed for large-scale cleaning of drains.He said the Shahpur Kandi Dam project, pending for over 25 years, was completed at a cost of Rs 3,394.49 crore, and that this would improve the efficiency of the Ranjit Sagar Dam and help prevent Punjab’s water from flowing into Pakistan.He said the Punjab govt implemented a rational mining policy to ensure proper management of natural resources while generating economic benefits for the state.
