Less than a year after Punjab saw the worst floods since 1988, the Water Resources Department identified 182 flood-prone points for river desilting, yet work has begun at only 52 sites, despite the monsoon around the corner.
In 2025, large areas along the Ravi, Sutlej, and Ghaggar rivers were inundated, affecting hundreds of villages and damaging crops and infrastructure. The Punjab government declared all its 23 districts affected, with over 1,400 villages inundated, around 3 lakh acres of farmland submerged, and over 3.5 lakh people affected. In a report sent to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the state government had requested Rs 11,855.65 crore to rebuild the infrastructure of public-sector departments.
Officials said years of silt accumulation had reduced the carrying capacity of rivers and drainage channels, increasing the risk of flooding during heavy rainfall.
In October last, the State Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) approved desilting at 182 locations in the Sutlej, Ravi, Ghaggar and Siswan rivers and choes. The committee estimated that around 137 crore cubic feet of sand had accumulated at these sites, but about 16 crore cubic feet of sand have so far been removed from 52 locations. Of the remaining 130 sites, 32 fall in forest areas where permission for desilting has not been granted.
Officials attribute the slow pace of work to legal battles in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT), changes in the state’s desilting policy and resistance from residents in some villages.
The department has identified nine locations as the most vulnerable ahead of this monsoon. Eight of these are along the Sutlej, including Harsha Bela in Rupnagar, Mandala Tajowal and Burj Tehal Dass in SBS Nagar, Wara Kali Roun on either side of the river, Khaira Bet in Ludhiana, Ruknewala in Ferozepur and Bella Karkhana to Phassa in Rupnagar. The ninth site is Karali on the Ghaggar as it passes through Mohali district.
Resistance from villagers
An application filed by the Ghalri village panchayat in Gurdaspur district led to proceedings before the NGT and stalled work at several sites.
“Ghalri is not even on the banks of the Ravi. We have tried to persuade villagers, but in vain. We presented before the NGT that their village is at least 10 km from the site, but villagers said ‘it’s mining and not desilting,” an official said.
Harsha Bela in Rupnagar is another contentious site. “We found a solution that we would dig a cunette (a small channel or trench used to direct the flow of water) in the mound of silt collected in the river for water flow in case it floods. We are trying to take some measures so that we are not caught in the middle of flood fury,” said an official.
Khaira Bet village in Ludhiana is another problem area. “Villagers are sitting on a dharna on the Sutlej embankment, not allowing us to carry out desilting work. Khaira Bet flooded the SBS Nagar side,” another official said.
3 changes in desilting policy in less than a year
The first policy, notified in 2025, covered 85 sites for desilting through a tendering process. The government said the exercise was necessary to increase the rivers’ carrying capacity and prevent flooding, but villagers and environmental groups alleged that mining was being carried out under the guise of desilting.
The second change came after the NGT Chairperson Prakash Shrivastava on February 17 directed that desilting work at the identified sites would not commence without its permission, but the tender process could continue. The tribunal was hearing a petition challenging an October 17, 2025, auction notice issued by the Water Resources Department, arguing that environmental clearances were required before excavation.
With the NGT objecting to the sale of excavated material, the government modified the policy. The sale of sand was stopped, and officials were directed to store the excavated material near embankments, dump it at designated locations or keep it on leased land. The change was aimed at addressing concerns that the exercise was turning into commercial mining.
The state government introduced a third policy on April 20, allowing adjoining landowners to undertake desilting at critical sites at their own cost and use the excavated material. The government described it as a flood-prevention measure aimed at ensuring that vulnerable stretches were cleared before the monsoon.
As the matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the court stayed the policy earlier this month. On Wednesday, however, it allowed desilting beneath the Anandpur Sahib-Agampur bridge after the state argued that six of the bridge’s seven gates were blocked by silt and that immediate work was needed to prevent flooding.
Officials said that after the NGT objected to the sale of excavated material, the government had to find alternative ways of handling the sand.
Minister for Water Resources Barinder Goyal said, “We changed the policy thrice. First, we were told that we could not auction the sites. Then we changed the policy and allowed adjoining landowners to undertake desilting. After that, we were told that even if private persons carried out desilting, the sand could not be sold. Then why would any landowner undertake the work? Finally, we decided that the government would carry out the operations itself. Now we are being told that the sand cannot be sold at all.
“We have directed deputy commissioners to dig cunettes and deposit the excavated sand around them. What is the harm if the state earns revenue from the sand? Now, we will have to spend money leasing land, pay rent for it and then hire watchmen to guard the material. What exactly is going on?”
Goyal said states should have the authority to desilt rivers. “What are we supposed to do, let people face floods every year in the name of protecting the environment? The environment can only be protected if people are safe. If sand is not removed, rivers will change their course and flood inhabited areas.
“In one stretch where we have around 30 sites, there is not even a single tree, yet we were not permitted to desilt. However, we have found a way forward. We will protect people from floods. The desilting work will start soon and will be completed at the earliest,” the minister added.
Punjab river desilting work has started at 52 flood-prone sites, while legal disputes, policy changes and local opposition delay operations elsewhere. (File) 
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