Over 8,000 kilometers long drains in Punjab are not up to the mark due to the poor cleanliness. Due to which the Punjab government has ordered to complete the irrigation related pending projects worth over Rs 10,000 crore soon.

Presiding over a high-level meeting with the chief engineers of various wings of irrigation department, irrigation and power minister Rana Gurjeet Singh asked the officials to expedite the various important projects being executed in the state. He instructed the officials to expedite the cleanliness of all the drains and sought a report on the current situation of all these drains within a week. He instructed the officials to ensure that these projects should be completed and dedicated to the people of the state in time bound manner.

The minister also said that the cleanliness process of 8,000 kilometer long drains in the state is not up to mark. The minister directed the chief engineer, drainage to improvise on the existing Hydraulic excavators to execute the work of cleaning of drains and removal of water hyacinth in a speedy and more cost effective manner.

On this occasion, chief engineers of different wings of the Irrigation department apprised the irrigation minister regarding the current status of various development projects. Rana Gurjeet Singh was informed that the project of relining of Rajasthan feeder and Sirhind feeder would be initiated in March 2018 at Rs 1,512 Crore, which would be completed in next three years.

He was further imformed that the Shahpur Kandi Barrage Project would start soon. Similarly, a loan of Rs 140 Crore has been sought from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural development (NABARD) so that the remaining work of Bist Doab Project can be completed by the year 2018-19. The work on Banuar Canal project announced by the CM Amarinder Singh has also been expedited.

In addition to this, a new project namely, Incentivisation Scheme for Bridging Irrigation Gap (ISBIG) with a total cost of about Rs 8,000 Crore is being taken up in the state in the near future for promoting micro irrigation in the state, said the official spokesperson.

Kandi Canal Project on which the state has already spent about Rs 600 Crore has been planned to be completed during next financial year with additional cost of Rs 60 Crore to provide Irrigation water to the entire planned area of 23,000 hectares, said the spokesperson.