In a relief to farmers, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today waived charges for maintenance and repair of tubewells for irrigation across the state.
A decision to this effect was taken by the Chief Minister at a meeting with MLAs and senior SAD and BJP leaders from the state's Kandi (sub-mountain) region here.
Acceding to the long-pending demand of the Kandi region, especially Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) and Pathankot districts, Badal waived these charges amounting to Rs 6.50 crore on tubewells installed by Punjab Water Resources Management & Development Corporation (PWRM&DC).
State Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon apprised Badal of his department's move to ensure maintenance and operation of tubewells by bidders for the next seven years, and said a condition to this effect had already been incorporated in the tenders invited for this purpose.
The government charged Re 1 and Rs 1.60 per unit of water from the consumers for maintenance and operation in Kandi and non-Kandi belt, respectively.
Taking strong exception to the laxity of (PWRM&DC) in energising these tubewells, the Chief Minister directed the Irrigation Minister to look into the reasons for the delay and fix the responsibility so that such things do not reoccur.
Badal decided to form a three-member panel, comprising the Irrigation Minister, Industries and Technical Education Minister Madan Mohan Mittal and Principal Secretary of Irrigation Sarvesh Kaushal, to prepare a master plan for making lift irrigation as a viable alternative to the traditional mode of tubewell irrigation in Kandi area.
Badal asked the Irrigation Minister to visit the Kandi region to take stock of the situation, so that the people could be relieved of the hardship, if any, at the earliest.
