Rs 55 cr sanctioned for flood protection works in Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday sanctioned a total sum of Rs 55 crore for undertaking flood protection and desilting measures on priority in the state. He also gave directions to complete the same before the onset of the monsoon, to prevent any flooding in the coming season.

Chairing a video conference to review the state's flood preparedness, the CM asked the Finance Department to immediately place a total of Rs 50 crore with the deputy commissioners to carry out desilting of drains before June 30, and complete the flood protection works by the first week of July. An additional Rs five crore has been allocated to the Water Resources department for any emergency works that may be needed in this regard, said an official release here. During the meeting, discussions were also held on a set of three initial reports submitted by Israel's National water company, Mekorot Development and Enterprise Ltd, on the state's water situation and roadmap for tackling the water crisis.  The reports were titled "Study of the current situation of the Water Sector", "Projections of the Water Resources" and "Projections of Water Demand (urban, rural, livestock, irrigation)".

The state government had, in June last year, signed an agreement with the company for formulation of water conservation and management master plan (WCMMP) for conservation and management of water resources of the state. The company was mandated to submit its recommendations within 18 months, and is scheduled to share its final report of the master plan in October 2020. The company is working closely with PAU and other departments of the Punjab government.

The chief minister directed the department to take all possible steps to ensure that there is no recurrence of floods like those witnessed last year in the state. He underlined the importance of timely completion of all necessary works, as well as a robust system of advance warnings.

Singh also asked the Department to maintain regular contact with the concerned departments, including the Meteorological Department and the Bhakra Beas Management Board( BBMB), to ensure that advance forecasts are received and disseminated well in time. With reservoirs filling up more due to the excessive snowfall this year, the CM directed the department to make all efforts to ensure that the Bhakra dam levels are kept under check with adequate cushion to receive the monsoon rainfall.