Punjab, J&K to resume work on Shahpur Kandi dam project

CHANDIGARH: The governments of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir will soon start work on the ₹2,793-crore Shahpur Kandi project. The two states have decided to complete the project within three years, an official spokesperson of Punjab government said. The construction of this project was halted in 2014 owing to a dispute between the two states.

He said chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, in a recent meeting with Union minister for water resources Nitin Gadkari, had sought early resolution of all issues relating to this project.

A high-level delegation from Punjab, comprising Punjab minister for water resources Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh and principal secretary water resources Jaspal Singh held talks with officials of Jammu & Kashmir and signed the papers.

Punjab chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh and BVR Subrahmanyam signed it in the presence of J&K governor Satya Pal Malik at the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar. Shahpur Kandi dam is a national project and required financial assistance will be provided by the Water Resources Ministry for its construction.

“The project will help in irrigation of about 37,000 hectares of land in Punjab and J&K and will produce 206 MW of power,” according to an official statement by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.