Water Resources Minister Barinder Goyal inaugurated canal water projects worth ₹83.64 crore ($13.6 million CAD) in the Nihal Singh Wala constituency on Thursday, as part of an ongoing state government effort to expand canal irrigation across Punjab.

The initiative involves constructing roughly 316 kilometres of watercourses and underground pipelines designed to deliver canal water directly to agricultural lands across 56 villages.

Officials said the completed network will expand the region’s canal-irrigated farmland by nearly 25,872 acres. The initiative aims to provide local farmers with a more reliable, cost-effective irrigation source while curbing over-reliance on tubewells to help prevent groundwater depletion.

Speaking at the inauguration, Goyal highlighted that the projects reflect the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led administration’s broader drive to strengthen Punjab’s irrigation infrastructure and ensure equitable water distribution to rural areas