Punjab Water Resources Minister Advocate Barinder Goyal said that keeping in mind the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the goal of providing canal water to every farm in Punjab will be realized soon.
The minister revealed this while laying the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 26 crore under the target of providing canal water to the people of 35 villages under Lehra assembly constituency.
Cabinet Minister Barinder Goyal said that for the last 18 years, the people of these villages have been deprived of canal water because the previous governments ignored the interests of the people on a large scale.
He said that as per records, 35249 acres of land was being irrigated with canal water through Dhanauri feeder, whereas in reality only 18740 acres was being irrigated. He added that now the remaining 16509 acres will also be irrigated with canal water as these projects would be completed by February 20, 2025 which will also bring cheer to the farmers of the region.
Cabinet Minister Barinder Goyal said that the state Water Resources Department was fully active to complete this goal. He said that earlier only 68% of water was being used through dams in Punjab and 32% of water was left unused due to dilapidated condition of canals and watercourses, whereas due to continuous efforts being made under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, now 84% of canal water is being used in Punjab.
Goyal said that it is the moral responsibility of every citizen of Punjab to save groundwater and avoid unnecessary wastage. Cabinet Minister Barinder Goyal said that Dhanauri Feeder, Dhanauri Distributor, Fulad Minor, Rampur Minor and Bhulan Minor are being built with the use of new technology which would also increase its capacity.
On this occasion, Minister Goyal's PA Rakesh Kumar Gupta, SE Water Resources Department Ankit Dhir, XEN Gursharan Singh Virk, SDO Yuvraj Bansal, Tehsildar Parveen Singla and other officials were also present.