Chandigarh: Punjab Water Resources Minister Sh. Barinder Kumar Goyal on Monday strongly criticised the opposition for indulging in politics during floods and misleading the august House. Speaking on the second day of discussion on the resolution “Rehabilitation of Punjab” during the special session of the Assembly, Sh. Goyal said leaders of the opposition, who remained in power for decades, are now resorting to baseless allegations merely to score political points.
Referring to Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa’s claim that seven lakh cusecs of water was released from Ranjit Sagar Dam, the Water Resources Minister clarified that the actual figure was only around 2.15 lakh cusecs. He said Bajwa committed an offence by misleading the House with false claims and must apologise as well as resign from the membership.
Sh. Goyal said the Congress never cared for the interests of Punjab’s people and always remained busy playing political games. He pointed out that the Leader of Opposition visited Madhopur Headworks almost a month after its breach, yet did not speak a single word about the department employee who sacrificed his life while opening the gate or the 26 officials who remained trapped at the site and had to be airlifted.
He further said Opposition leader has been spreading lies about non-cleaning of Sakki Nallah in Gurdaspur, while in reality, 20 panchayats of the area honoured me during Baba Gujjar Mela for ensuring its cleaning.
The Minister asserted that under the leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab has witnessed a scale of drain-cleaning work never undertaken in the last 70 years. He added that due to the government’s tireless efforts, canal water has now reached the remotest tail-end villages. Prior to 2022, only 21 percent of the state’s cultivable land was irrigated with canal water, whereas the Mann government has increased it to 64 percent and set a target to achieve 76 percent by March 31, 2026. Farmers, he said, have received canal water after 38 to 40 years, bringing them immense relief.
The Cabinet Minister noted that this initiative has not only helped conserve underground water but also ensured optimum use of water stored in dams. He blamed the negligence of previous governments for Haryana’s repeated demands for excess water every year.
Coming down heavily on BJP leaders, Sh. Goyal said the party insulted the sanctity of Punjab Vidhan Sabha by holding a Mock Session, an act that can never be tolerated.
