Chandigarh, June 4: Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal has directed all the Deputy Commissioners of the State to intensify the work on various ongoing short term schemes of flood control in the State and said that they should personally visit the sites to ensure that these are completed well before the commencement of monsoon season. Setting a target for the DCs, he directed that work on the ongoing schemes and other flood control measures including desilting of both urban and rural drains should be completed by June 20, 2020.
Mr Manohar Lal gave these directions while presiding over a meeting with all the Deputy Commissioners to review flood preparedness in the State through video conferencing here today. At present, 143 short term schemes are being implemented in different districts of the State at an estimated cost of Rs 132.25 crore.
While directing the DCs to take up all flood control measures in their respective districts on priority basis, he said that DCs should personally visit the work site every week to see for themselves the progress of work and ensure that same are completed at the earliest. He said that work for the disciliting of drains should be completed before June 20, 2020 positively. He also directed the DCs to ensure the strengthening of river banks especially in Yamunanagar and Karnal districts to avert flooding.
It was informed that out of the total 833 urban and rural drains in the State, 588 drains have been identified for cleaning. It was also informed that the work of desilting of drains is being carried out at a rapid pace under MGNREGA. Apart from the list of drains has been shared with Departments of Irrigation and Water Resources, Urban Local Bodies, Public Works (Building and Roads) and Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) for this purpose. As 18 drains in the State are being managed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Railways, the concerned Deputy Commissioners have been directed to coordinate with NHAI and Railways for the cleanliness of these drains.
It was further informed that about 522 temporary sites have been identified in the state where there is a possibility of water accumulation during monsoon. Adequate arrangement has been made to pump out excess water from these sites and for this temporary electricity connections are being applied.
It was informed that with a view to prevent the possibility of breach in river or canal banks, the Irrigation and Water Resources Department has prepared a roster of employees to identify vulnerable spots. Apart from this, the department is also preparing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the immediate supply of resources at the weak spots.
Earlier, the Chief Minister directed the Irrigation and Water Resources Department to immediately prepare a comprehensive plan for the construction of recharging shafts especially in the areas of Kaithal, Kurukhetra and Ratai and in those other areas where huge quantities of water is accumulated during rains. He said that besides the farmers, suggestions of prominent people of the area should also be considered while preparing the plan. He said that in the first minimum 1000 recharging shafts should be constructed in the State.
He also interacted with all the Deputy Commissioners and took feedback from them about the progress of various ongoing flood control works in their respective districts.
Among those present in the meeting included Chief Secretary Mrs Keshni Anand Arora, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr Rajesh Khullar, Additional Chief Secretary Home and Revenue and Disaster Management Departments Mr Vijai Vardhan, Additional Chief Secretary Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Mr Sanjeev Kaushal, Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Mr Rajeev Arora, Additional Chief Secretary Medical Education and Research Mr Alok Nigam, Additional Chief Secretary Power Mr T.C. Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary Finance Mr TVSN Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary Irrigation and Water Resources Mr Devender Singh, Principal Secretary Development and Panchayats Mr Sudhir Rajpal, Principal Secretary Labour Mr Vineet Garg, Principal Secretary Town and Country Planning Department Mr A.K Singh, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr V. Umashankar, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mrs Ashima Brar, DGP Mr Manoj Yadava and other senior officers of the State Government.