Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Friday addressed the centenary celebrations of the Ganga Canal at Sadhuwali in Sri Ganganagar, marking 100 years since the canal’s foundation in 1925. At the event, he announced projects worth ₹1,717 crore for rehabilitation and modernisation of the canal system.
The projects include reconstruction of the Ferozepur Feeder at a cost of ₹647 crore to stabilise water supply, restoration of the Bikaner Canal with an outlay of ₹300 crore, and ₹695 crore for the first phase of automating 3.14 lakh hectares of the Ganga Canal command area. Automation will enable scientific water distribution and real-time monitoring. An additional ₹75 crore has been sanctioned for reconstruction of damaged canals and defunct distributaries. All works are scheduled for completion by October 2027.
Sharma said irrigation-related works worth ₹5,000 crore have been provisioned over the past two years. Projects amounting to ₹1,400 crore are currently under execution, while tenders have been issued for works worth ₹3,265 crore. He added that ₹3,400 crore has been allocated for restoration of Indira Gandhi Canal systems and construction of pucca distributaries. A Chief Minister’s Irrigation Task Force has been constituted to oversee implementation.
The Chief Minister also announced a ₹15 per quintal increase in the minimum support price for sugarcane. The revised MSP stands at ₹416 per quintal for the early variety, ₹406 for the general variety, and ₹401 for the late variety.
On farmer welfare measures, Sharma said over 76 lakh farmers in Rajasthan have received more than ₹10,000 crore under the PM-Kisan scheme. He added that ₹44,000 crore in interest-free short-term crop loans has been disbursed, and 33 lakh metric tonnes of wheat have been procured at support price, including bonuses paid in the last two years.
In Sri Ganganagar district, canal works include ₹185 crore for repair of damaged distributaries under the Kanwarsen Lift Canal and ₹60 crore for distributary construction in the Bikaner and Ganga Canal regions. Another ₹200 crore will be spent on reconstruction of pucca distributaries across 44,000 hectares in multiple blocks, along with ₹75 crore for strengthening a section of the Indira Gandhi Main Canal.
As part of the centenary programme, Sharma reviewed exhibitions by the irrigation, horticulture and agriculture departments and visited the Ganga Canal site.
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