Canal-water utilisation in the state has increased from 22% in 2022 to over 80%, with 14,000 km of pipelines laid to supply irrigation water to agricultural fields, said Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday. The government plans to lay another 6,000 km of pipelines to expand the network, he said.
Citing a Union government report, he claimed that Punjab’s groundwater table had risen by four metres. “Canal water is like desi ghee for Punjab’s crops. He stressed the need to systematically document crop-wise yields to assess the initiative’s impact.
The CM said nearly 18,000 cusecs of canal water was reaching agricultural fields, describing it as a significant expansion of irrigation infrastructure. Mann also cited reports of improved paddy productivity in areas receiving canal water, with yields touching nearly 90 maunds per acre this season.
Speaking on the second day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha session, Mann said the expansion of canal irrigation was reducing dependence on groundwater and helping restore depleting reserves. Adequate canal irrigation reduces dependence on groundwater, improves productivity and makes farming more sustainable,” he said. He said that farmers in some areas had received canal water after decades of waiting, while regions previously classified as dark zones were showing signs of recovery. The proposed pipeline expansion, he said, would benefit farmers in areas that had long faced inadequate canal supplies. “The government’s goal was to ensure access to canal water across Punjab, conserve groundwater and reduce excessive extraction through borewells,” he said, adding that every drop of groundwater saved would help protect the state’s agricultural future and benefit future generations.
