CHANDIGARH: Describing the Budget presented by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab government as progressive and farmer-centric, Water Resources and Mining Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal today said that the financial roadmap would further accelerate irrigation reforms and bring greater transparency and efficiency in the mining sector across the state.
Appreciating the focus on strengthening water management infrastructure in the budget, the Cabinet Minister said that the government has achieved a historic milestone by doubling canal irrigation capacity within three years. Canal irrigation coverage which stood at 2.23 million acres in 2022 will expand to 5.3 million acres by April 2026.
Barinder Kumar Goyal said the government has proposed a budgetary outlay of Rs.2971 crore for the Water Resources sector in 2026-27, with a strong focus on expanding canal irrigation and strengthening last-mile connectivity through pipelines and brick-lined watercourses. These initiatives are expected to restore irrigation coverage to around five lakh hectares, taking the total area under canal irrigation close to 70 lakh acres, which is nearly 90 percent of the designed canal irrigated area.
The Cabinet Minister informed that the government has undertaken the remodelling of the Mahorana Distributary and construction of the Malerkotla Minor at a cost of Rs.288 crore to address the long-pending irrigation demands of farmers in the Malerkotla region. The project will provide canal water for the first time to 55 villages covering nearly 44, 000 acres, while Rs.190 crore has been earmarked for this initiative in 2026-27.