Punjab orders mid-monsoon desilting of 37 new river sites, timing raises eyebrows

“In view of ongoing monsoon season and in light of the orders of National Green Tribunal in OA No. 316/2026, dated 08.06.2026, another list of 37 sites is hereby shared, which includes the sites under volume share model of tenders, price bid tenders and sites allotted to landowners for desilting but which were at halt due to local protest or any other reason. The Deputy Commissioners are requested to take stock of requirement of work for ensuring safe passage of flood water at critical river sites in their respective jurisdiction and execute the work either through landowners or as per SOP already issued vide letter dated 15.06.2026,” the letter states.

As per the letter the additional 37 sites include the districts Ropar (11), Gurdaspur, SBS Nagar (5), SAS Nagar (4), Ludhiana (2), Amritsar (3), Fazilka (1), Patiala (2), Ferozepur (2) and Tarn Taran (2).

In an earlier move the Chief Engineer Drainage-cum-mining of Water Resources Department (WRD), Hardeep Singh Mendiratta, had written to the Deputy Commissioners on June 16,  it was mentioned that a total of 99 sites had to be de-silted under Disaster Management Act by the respective Deputy Commissioners, “either through landowners or as per SOP dated 15.06.2026 issued by the Department of Water Resources”.

This letter by the WRD said these instructions were in line with the decisions taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers, held on June 10, 2026 and issued by the Department of General Administration letter dated June 10.

“Deputy Commissioners shall take stock of requirement of work for ensuring safe passage of flood water at critical river sites in the district and finalize the critical sites. Approvals for such critical sites shall be given within one day of issue of this letter and works shall be completed before 30/06/2026,” this letter says.

However, river experts and environmentalists have long maintained that large-scale mechanical desilting is most effective and least disruptive before the monsoon, when riverbeds are exposed and water levels are low. Working in flowing, rain-swollen rivers during July–August is logistically challenging, costlier, and carries higher safety risks for workers and machinery.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its order dated June 8 in the Kuljinder Singh case had restrained commercial-style “volume share” desilting on dozens of sites unless proper environmental clearances, district survey reports, and replenishment studies were in place. It did, however, permit genuine flood-control and disaster-mitigation work.

The present directions for de-silting under Disaster Management Act appears to be the government’s workaround to the NGT order by shifting  sites to Deputy Commissioners for emergency execution under disaster management powers, bypassing some commercial tender restrictions.

Attempts were made to speak to the Chief Engineer Drainage-cum-Mining but he did not respond to phone calls and text messages.

The July 16 order also stands out because it comes more than a month after the earlier target deadline of June 30 for completing desilting. Monsoon rains are already active, with the peak usually expected in July–August. Some sites involve longitudinal desilting and removal of riverbed material in villages directly along the Sutlej and Ravi — work that becomes far more difficult once water levels rise.

The application before NGT on de-silting had challenged the tender/auction notices issued in the month of April – May 2026 by the State of Punjab for extraction of sand by desilting sand and other alluvial material by desilting rivers, Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, etc.

It was argued that in the garb of “No Cost to Government” Model based upon the sharing of extracted sand, the Government of Punjab is indulging in commercial sand mining.