Overview

• CM Bhagwant Mann approved the 14-point Integrated State Water Plan to curb groundwater extraction and expand drip and sprinkler irrigation across 1.58 million hectares.
• Punjab has rehabilitated 17,000 watercourses and 79 canals abandoned for up to 40 years, restoring 6,300 km of channels and 545 km of canal networks.
• The plan will build check dams and ponds linked by lift irrigation systems to channel surplus canal flows into fields for both recharge and surface irrigation.
• Under CSR norms, private firms will invest in water management and newly formed Water User Associations will give farmers a direct role in distribution and maintenance.
• A PSFFWC-led expert group—including specialists from IIT Ropar, IIT Mandi and the National Institute of Hydrology—convened to recommend advanced groundwater mapping and basin-specific interventions after 115 blocks were deemed over-exploited.