DW BUREAU / Sri Muktsar Sahib

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday said the 150-km long Malwa canal, which is under construction, will cater to the irrigational needs of nearly 2 lakh acres in the southern part of the state. He said this is the first ever canal which was being set up in the state in the post-Independence era.

The state government had proposed the canal project in the state budget in March.

Addressing a gathering after inspecting the work on the canal, Mann said the previous governments overlooked the needs of the state, which led to the over exploitation of the groundwater and maximum blocks turning into dark zones.

The new canal will usher in a new era of unprecedented progress and prosperity in the state especially in Malwa region, Mann asserted. The state government will spend around Rs 2,300 crore on the project, he said.

Mann said this was for him a dream project, which he conceived even before he became the chief minister.

Attacking the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-led governments in the state, Mann said those who had always sought votes in the name of 'panth' never bothered to take such a step. "Why were such projects not undertaken earlier?" He alleged the Akali leaders were more interested in supplying water to their farms rather than building such projects as those could have transformed the fate of the common man.

It is because of such an "anti-people" stance, these leaders were rejected by voters, he said. Taking a dig at SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the CM said she was shedding crocodile tears over royalty for the waters of the state.

He said that since the 1970s her family was at the helm of affairs of the state for a majority period, but it never raised this issue anywhere.

Now when the people of state have sent them to "political oblivion," the Badal family is raising these issues, he said.

Referring to the Mohali-based luxury hotel, Sukhvilas project, Mann said, "I have papers of this project and I will tell you some good news about it in the coming days." The CM had in February this year alleged that the Badal family had taxes worth Rs 108 crore waived for Sukhvilas by way of a "tailor-made" eco-tourism policy during its rule.
(editor@dailyworld.in)