Punjab Government plans to act against Ghaggar riverbed encroachment

Aman Sood

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Ghanaur/Shutrana, August 23

From illegal mining, temporary self-made dams, encroachments, religious structures to farming, residents of many villages have been exploiting the Ghaggar to make a quick buck, hence affecting the natural flow of the seasonal river that originates in Himachal Pradesh and flows south through Haryana and Rajasthan, eventually entering Pakistan.

A visit by The Tribune team to the villages along the Ghaggar showed various types of encroachments mushrooming in the area. Villagers have encroached upon the riverbed and its banks with fodder stores, cattle huts, religious buildings, farming and even mining activities, blocking the natural flow of water and resulting in floods during monsoon. “We have been doing it for the past over two decades,” claim owners of such encroachments.

A former chief engineer said the seriousness of the Irrigation Department could be gauged from the fact that a majority of the technical field employees were mechanical engineers who weren’t trained in dealing or preparing for floods. “Flood-control measures — cleaning drains and the maintenance of protection bundhs — are civil works. Instead of spending crores of rupees every year, the department needs to have a long-term plan, else the officials will continue to pocket funds while the villagers suffer due to the floods.”

Top sources said the government was serious “about ensuring that all such

illegal encroachments are removed”. “Also, a report on the erring officials, who have pocketed crores from the funds released for the Ghaggar, will be sought. Let them face a Vigilance Bureau probe,” they added.

Alleging hundreds of crores of rupees had been spent on temporary measures, the residents of flood-prone villages said rampant corruption in carrying out the annual repair and maintenance exposes them to the Ghaggar flood fury. “Wild growth blocks the natural flow while there’s no action against encroachments,” said Gurpreet Singh of Devigarh.

Interestingly last week, the Supreme Court had ordered the Punjab and Haryana Governments to implement the measures recommended by the Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune, to resolve the problem of flooding of the Ghaggar basin that adversely affected farmers in 25 villages of the two states.

Earlier in its 32nd meeting held on October 12 last year, the Ghaggar Standing Committee had discussed the final model study report that recommended “widening of the river from 60 m to 90 m at some feasible points, along with limiting water-level rise to 2 m at both banks by constructing embankments”.

Meanwhile, the staff attached with Irrigation Minister Harjot Bains confirmed that a committee had been formed and “action will be taken after a detailed report on the Ghaggar”.

FARMING ON RIVERBED LEGAL

Encrochments on the Ghaggar riverbed are private. Only permanent structures are considered as encroachments, while farming on the riverbed isn’t illegal. Still inform me if there’s any such encroachment in view. — HS Bedi, superintending engineer (drainage)