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Punjab approves ₹52-cr flood protection plan for Sutlej, Swan river belts
Announcing the plan on Friday, Punjab education and information and public relations minister Harjot Singh Bains said the works will cover villages along the banks of the Sutlej and Swan rivers in the Anandpur Sahib constituency.
Months after the worst floods in decades battered Punjab, the state government has launched a ₹52-crore flood protection plan ahead of monsoon this year, focusing on villages historically vulnerable to inundation.
Announcing the plan on Friday, Punjab education and information and public relations minister Harjot Singh Bains said the works will cover villages along the banks of the Sutlej and Swan rivers in the Anandpur Sahib constituency.
“The flood protection plan is aimed at permanently securing vulnerable villages that have historically faced the brunt of floods during the monsoon. Works worth ₹52 crore have already been tendered and commenced, with physical construction set to gather pace within a fortnight. Projects estimated at ₹30 crore are also in the pipeline,” he said.
Emphasising the urgency, Bains said the safety of residents was “non-negotiable”, adding that last year’s floods had taught a hard lesson and the government was building robust, long-term protections.
The floods in August-September 2025 caused extensive damage to kharif crops, primarily paddy, besides claiming lives and livestock, and damaging property. The districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Pathankot were among the worst affected.
The state government had pegged overall flood-related losses at ₹12,905 crore. According to revenue department’s girdawari reports, out of the 5 lakh acres of farmland affected due to floods , crop on over 2.97 lakh acres suffered 100% damage.
In addition, the floods left 30,000 houses damaged, with 9,000 completely destroyed.
