JAMMU: Minister for Jal Shakti, Javed Ahmad Rana, today informed the House that a comprehensive DPR for an amount of Rs 37.00 crore has been prepared to enhance carrying capacity of different canals of Bijbehara- Srigufwara constituency, which shall be part of project shelf of NABARD 2025-26.
He was replying to a question raised by Bashir Ahmad Veeri.The Minister said that regular drives are being conducted to restrict the encroachments on irrigation canals. Around 658 encroachments have been removed in the year 2024-25 in which 300.02 kanal of government land was retrieved, he added.
The Minister said that there are certain stretches of canals that have encroachment on the banks. However, the main watercourse is free from any encroachment which will not impede the flow. He said that barring some leakage spots and silt accumulation in certain stretches, there is no major bottleneck that will prevent from supplying adequate Irrigation water.
The Minister said that silt removal is a maintenance work that is being taken up on a regular basis in canals, usually after every Irrigation season, through stage contracts as well as through convergence mode.
Regarding the de-silting of the canals, the Minister informed that under M&R grants, 17 km (in canals of Bijbehara/Srigufwara constituency) has been desilted during 2024-25 at an expenditure of Rs 5.82 lakh. He added that the Rural Development Department undertook desilting in 8 km with a cost of Rs 3.17 lakh.