To check depletion of water level, 3 cities to get canal supply

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 19

To check the rapid decline and deterioration of groundwater, three major cities of the state will be provided with canal water instead of groundwater.

Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday said in-principle approval had been accorded to the project costing Rs 3,500 crore for Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala.

In a press release, Sidhu said the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had accorded technical clearance to all three water supply schemes and forwarded it to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

A meeting was held on Saturday in the office of Department of Economic Affairs wherein the approval had been given to the proposed surface water supply schemes for all three cities.

Sidhu said the Union Government would now send the proposal to the World Bank for Ludhiana and Amritsar and to the Asian Development Bank for Patiala, to get assistance and fund allocations. The process of approvals and sanctioning of loan from the lending agencies and further selection of contractors was expected to be completed within 12-14 months after which work was expected to begin on the ground.

The minister said these cities had witnessed a sharp decline of groundwater levels in recent years. The situation was worsening due to the unregulated extraction of groundwater, he added.