The Minister elaborated that out of the total project, funds amounting to Rs 1043.93 crore were being spent for strengthening of major canal systems, Rs 308.50 crore on the new minors/distributaries and widening and strengthening of existing minors/distributaries, Rs 67.72 crore on minor irrigation schemes, Rs1583.41 crore on construction of field channels/khalas, command area development programme and flood control and Rs 239.50 crore to carry out anti-water logging schemes.

“The underlying objectives of the massive irrigation infrastructure development programme, to be completed within next three and half years, is to restore and modernise the old irrigation system and to ensure the water supply at the tail ends, to encourage schemes toward optimum utilisation of water resources, to encourage artificial recharging works to arrest the declining water table in the state, to ensure linking/rehabilitation/remodelling of irrigation channels to increase the irrigation potential, installation of deep tubewells and replacement/renovation of existing tubewells, lining of water courses in various command areas and repair and renovation of existing water courses and construction and strengthening of flood protection works along rivers and choes and construction of new link drains and desilting/resectioning of existing drains,” he added.

Sekhon informed that this project was the part of Kotla Feeder consisting of first Patiala Feeder and Kotla Branch, to be completed at a cost of Rs 123.23 crore, and now in the second phase the work on the Kotla Branch was being started during the next closure of water in canal and would be completed on war footing. He said that the Centrel government had already accorded sanction for this project.

For Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, the Central government contributed 25% of the costs and the remaining 75% was being contributed by the state government. The Minister said that this was the first time that the strengthening of whole canal system in a state was being undertaken, which would ensure efficient functioning of the irrigation system up to the tale level.

Devinder Singh Jassar, SE, IB Circle, Patiala, has informed that the work on brick lining the first Patiala Feeder has been completed through round-the-clock work and the canal has been deepened to 12-feet and widened to 148 feet using 266 lakh bricks and 2,43000 bags of cement. He said that the birm cutting of the canal was taken up at a cost of Rs 185 lakh and now all the minors and distributaries of this canal would run on regular basis.