Clean drains, water channels in Haryana ahead of monsoon: CM

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini today reviewed the ongoing short-term projects across the state in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season. He directed the officials concerned to complete all essential work on priority, and said any kind of negligence would not be tolerated.

Chairing a meeting with officials from the Irrigation and Water Resources, Public Health Engineering and Urban Local Bodies departments, the CM directed that all drains and minors in the state should be cleaned immediately to prevent waterlogging and potential flood situations.

He instructed the officials to strengthen riverbeds by desilting the Saraswati, Markanda and Tangri to maintain the natural flow of water. He also ordered the immediate removal of water hyacinth from drains and other water channels to prevent any obstruction to the flow of water, and the inspection of dams.

The CM said all short-term projects must be executed on a war footing ahead of the monsoon. He also directed that details of the works being undertaken by the Irrigation and Water Resources and Public Health Engineering departments should be shared with local public representatives and Deputy Commissioners.

While reviewing the condition of 'khaals' (water channels), he instructed officials to compile a list of all khaals over 20 years old, so that an action plan could be developed for their cleaning and repair.

The CM, issuing directives to keep the Yamuna free from pollution, said no untreated or contaminated water should be discharged into it. He said in areas where industrial waste was flowing into the river, the establishment of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) must be set up without delay. He also instructed officials to prepare comprehensive proposals for CETP projects.

He further said a separate system should be developed to utilise treated water from CETPs for irrigation purposes, thereby promoting sustainable water management. He also instructed the departments to ensure the cleaning and strengthening of all water harvesting and groundwater recharge structures before monsoon.

During the meeting, officials informed Saini that the Haryana State Drought Relief and Flood Control Board had approved 209 short-term projects worth Rs 282 crore. Of these, work was underway on 103 projects, while the remaining were in various stages of approval. It was also informed that the cleaning of all drains in the state would be completed by June 30.