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- Punjab Water Resources and Soil and Water Conservation Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Monday inaugurated the first phase of a ₹650-crore lift irrigation project designed to provide a reliable water supply to 102 villages in the Nurpur Bedi block of Ropar district.
- The proposed channelisation of the Swan River is also expected to reduce the risk of flooding in nearby villages while enabling the stored water to be used for farming.
- The project was formally launched at Chhajja village and is intended to address the long-standing irrigation difficulties faced by the region, where farmers frequently contend with both water scarcity and seasonal flooding.
Punjab Water Resources and Soil and Water Conservation Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Monday inaugurated the first phase of a ₹650-crore lift irrigation project designed to provide a reliable water supply to 102 villages in the Nurpur Bedi block of Ropar district.
The project was formally launched at Chhajja village and is intended to address the long-standing irrigation difficulties faced by the region, where farmers frequently contend with both water scarcity and seasonal flooding.
Under the first phase, nine villages and nearly 2,785 acres of agricultural land will be covered. The remaining villages will be included gradually as subsequent phases of the project are implemented.
Speaking at the inauguration, Goyal said villages in the Nurpur Bedi area had remained without adequate irrigation infrastructure for several decades. He said the state government had studied various possibilities, including drawing water from the Nangal reservoir and the Sutlej River, before finalising the present plan.
The project will follow a cluster-based model, with groups of eight to 14 villages being served through locally designed lift irrigation systems. Small check dams will also be constructed to collect and store rainwater. The accumulated water will subsequently be supplied to agricultural fields through gravity-based channels.
Water from the Sutlej and Swan rivers will form a key part of the project. The proposed channelisation of the Swan River is also expected to reduce the risk of flooding in nearby villages while enabling the stored water to be used for farming.
According to the minister, the scheme will help reduce excessive dependence on groundwater and provide farmers with a more sustainable source of irrigation. The government expects the improved availability of water to increase agricultural output and bring previously under-irrigated land into productive use.
Ropar MLA Dinesh Chadha said the project marked the first major effort to supply canal water to villages in the flood-prone Nurpur Bedi region. He said farmers had suffered for years because of recurring floods from the Sutlej and seasonal streams, even as much of the available water remained unutilised.
Chadha said the new system would serve the dual purpose of protecting villages from floods and supplying water to agricultural land. He also accused previous governments of failing to formulate a comprehensive irrigation strategy for the area despite its proximity to major water sources.
Once completed, the project is expected to extend irrigation coverage across the entire Nurpur Bedi block and provide significant support to the local agricultural economy.
Meanwhile, sources said the Punjab government has sought approximately ₹500 crore from the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to help finance the project.
