4 Punjab cities to get potable canal water supply: Minister

After reviewing the ongoing development works and implementation of welfare schemes, the minister said that Punjab government has chalked out a comprehensive plan to ensure maximum utilisation of river and canal waters

KAPURTHALA

Punjab local bodies minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar.

Punjab local bodies minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar on Tuesday said the state is all set to provide potable canal water to four of its major cities, including Jalandhar, Patiala, Ludhiana, and Amritsar. This step is being taken to save the rapidly depleting groundwater, the minister said during his visit to Kapurthala.

After reviewing the ongoing development works and implementation of welfare schemes, the minister said that Punjab government has chalked out a comprehensive plan to ensure maximum utilisation of river and canal waters.

In the first phase, four big cities would get canal water under a 25 to 30 year plan, he said. Besides that, 85 other cities and towns have also been identified which fall within the 15 kilometre radius of any river or canal so that the potable water can be provided to a major portion of Punjab easily, the minister added.

Reviewing the current status of setting up a medical college in Kapurthala, which would be a spread over 11.5 acres, the minister said that he would take up the matter with the concerned departments so that the work could begin as early as possible.

On the issue of bad quality of roads and waterlogging, the minister said there should be zero tolerance for poor quality of roads. He said public works department and municipal corporations must work transparently to ensure quality checks strictly. Directing the officials to ensure quality control, the minister said that contractors who didn’t work as per the specifications must be blacked out for future works to ensure quality in government works.

The minister also reviewed 16 projects under the Smart City Sultanpur Lodhi and asked the officials to complete these projects as soon as possible as it would not only facilitate the pilgrims visiting the holy city but also promote it as a favoured religious tourist destination.

He also ordered the municipal corporations and municipal councils to start a special drive to create awareness among the people regarding discontinuing the use of single-use plastic and to set up a single window system in municipal corporation to redress the grievances of people within a stipulated time frame.