Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema announces river cleaning drive for long-term flood prevention, opposes BBMB alterations, and inaugurates development projects worth ₹11.46 crore.
Punjab’s Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said that the administration is serious about keeping the state safe from floods for good.
He said that the state aims to clean, deepen, and broaden the Ravi and Sutlej rivers, which are within its control. The Central Government has also been asked for permission to clean the Beas river, which is a Ramsar site.
Cheema told reporters in Dirba that Punjab had huge losses because of floods in 2023 and 2025. He stressed that desilting the rivers is very important for long-term flood protection. He stated that 28 places along the Beas river need to be cleaned up right away and asked the Central government to give this project as much help as possible.
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Cheema was against the Central government’s plan to make Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan permanent members of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). He said it would be unfair to the people of Punjab and would not be accepted.
He said that the Punjab government would not let other states take over the BBMB. Cheema gave the people of the Dirba Assembly constituency a Diwali gift by laying foundation stones and starting development projects worth Rs 11.46 crore. A canal water project in Chhajli village worth Rs 2.5 crore would connect farmers’ fields to canal water through a 13-km pipeline. This is to fix the problem of tube wells that don’t work since the water table is getting deeper.
Cheema added that under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s leadership, the administration has been working for the state’s overall development for the past three and a half years.
He talked about how important it is to improve healthcare, education, and infrastructure, saying that bad policies from past governments have slowed down progress.
“The government is committed to meeting the public’s expectations with honest intentions, and it will not lower the quality of development projects.” “The contractors will take care of the new rural roads for five years for the first time,” the minister stated.
Cheema asked neighbors to keep an eye on the projects to make sure they are done well.