Farmers and Residents Oppose Malwa Canal Project at Public Hearing
Strong resentment was witnessed at the Punjab Pollution Control Board's (PPCB) public hearing for environmental clearance of the proposed Malwa Canal project. The event, held at Canal Colony in Faridkot on Friday, saw heated arguments from local farmers and residents who rejected the government's narrative that the canal would boost irrigation and drinking water supply.
The state government pitched the project as a major benefit for farmers in Muktsar, Faridkot, and Ferozepur districts. However, many in the public alleged that the proposed canal is merely a conduit to dump polluted water from Buddha Nullah and sewage from major towns into the region.
Speakers at the hearing claimed that the highly polluted water to be channelled through the new canal would be unfit for irrigation or drinking. They warned that such water would further contaminate the groundwater table in an already stressed region.
Protesting residents pointed out that the two major existing canals—the Rajasthan Feeder Canal and the Sirhind Feeder Canal—already receive heavy loads of sewage and industrial effluents. This polluted water enters the Beas and Sutlej rivers through Ludhiana's Buddha Nullah before flowing into both feeder canals, rendering them ecologically degraded due to years of official apathy.
According to the official notice for the public hearing, the proposed Malwa Canal would be 141.07 km long. It would start 8.46 km from the Harike Headworks, run parallel to the left side of the Rajasthan Feeder Canal, and terminate near village Warring Khera in Muktsar district, covering Ferozepur, Faridkot, and Muktsar districts. The project aims to bring a Culturable Command Area (CCA) of 86,087 hectares under irrigation.
Dr. Pritpal Singh, who opposed the canal, stated that without clarity or public disclosure of reports on water quality in the Beas and Sutlej rivers—and subsequently in the feeder canals—there was no question of public approval for the new canal proposal.
Fearing land acquisition disputes and ecological disruption, attendees demanded that the government first release water quality reports of both feeder canals before any new project is sanctioned. PPCB officials and representatives of the Water Resources Department, Chandigarh, noted down the public objections and assured that the proceedings of Friday's hearing, along with the record of objections, would be forwarded to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for further review.
