category Regional,Moga, chandigarh, , tags Regional,Moga, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh Moga Punjab Soil Water Conservation Minister S. Chetan Singh Jauramajra, on Thursday, laid foundation stone of state s largest irrigation project aimed at utilizing 27 MLD (Million liter per day) of treated water from the Sewage Treatment Plant Moga, on the occasion of 54th anniversary of the Department of Soil Water Conservation. The project will benefit agricultural fields of four nearby villages. The Cabinet Minister, while addressing the farmers after laying the foundation stone, said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government under its efforts aimed at preventing further depletion of underground water and to reduce the agricultural input costs for the farmers, has set target to double the treated water usage to 600 MLD by end of current financial year, thus benefitting 20,000 hectares of agriculture land. The state is at present utilizing 320 MLD for irrigation, he added. Lauding the efforts of department, S. Chetan Singh Jauramajra informed that this is till date the biggest treated water irrigation project of the state being built at the total cost of Rs.12.87-CR and benefiting more than 1000 hectares of agricultural land of 1100 farmer households. The Soil and Water Conservation Minister also emphasized that to mitigate the threat of water scarcity and desertification, which is likely to witnessed in next 20-25 years in the state at present water consumptions level, we must immediately adopt low water requiring diversified cropping patterns and intelligent irrigation techniques so that we and our upcoming generations may never witness dry taps. S. Jauramajra said, groundwater resources of the state are declining at an alarming rate with 117 out of 150 blocks comprising nearly 80 of state s geographical area already under over-exploited category, stressing on need to develop such kind of alternate surface water-based irrigation water sources and also maximizing canal water usage to arrest declining groundwater resources of the state. The utilization of treated wastewater from the STPs not only aligns with the government s mission of water conservation but also benefits the farmers by reducing fertilizer requirement as the treated waste water is rich in nutrients, which will reduce input cost in farming thus enhancing farmer income, he added. The Cabinet Minister urged farmers to vacate the illegal encroachments from the watercourses since these watercourses are essential for supplying water to their fields. (editor dailyworld.in)