Punjab’s Malwa Canal project stalled as High Court halts land acquisition

The Punjab government’s much-hyped Malwa Canal project, involving the construction of a 149-km canal, has hit a roadblock with the Punjab and Haryana High Court halting all land acquisition proceedings until the environment impact assessment (EIA) report is finalised.

In its August 25 order, a division bench of Justices Jasgurpreet Singh Puri and Pravindra Singh Chauhan said that neither the petitioners nor similarly placed landowners could be dispossessed of their land, and no award could be passed in relation to the Malwa Canal until the EIA report is complete.

The case involves 273 landowners from Muktsar, Faridkot, and Ferozepur districts who challenged the land acquisition proceedings initiated for the Malwa Canal construction. The matter first came up for hearing on August 17 after farmer Jasdev Singh Sidhu filed a petition.

The case was subsequently taken up on August 25 and decided along with three other writ petitions challenging the same land acquisition proceedings. During the proceedings, the bench asked the state about the purity of the water to be released in the canal.

“The State of Punjab had filed a short affidavit in court, but failed to clarify whether the water to be released in the Malwa Canal would be fit for human consumption or not?” the bench said. “The State of Punjab or the officials present in Court could not reply to the said question and merely said that the Environment Impact Assessment report was not finalised yet.” The landowners’ case was represented by senior advocates Inder Pal Singh Doabia, Sanjay Roy and G S Doabia.

The Malwa Canal is a proposed major irrigation project of the Punjab government aimed at bringing canal water to parts of south-western Punjab facing irrigation shortages and heavy dependence on groundwater. The proposed canal is expected to pass through Ferozepur, Faridkot and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts.

Earlier project details described the canal as being approximately 149 km long, originating near the Harike Headworks/Sutlej system and carrying water towards the Muktsar region. Its stated objective is to provide irrigation water to tail-end agricultural areas, reduce dependence on tube wells and help address Punjab’s rapidly depleting groundwater.

The project has been estimated to cost around Rs 2,300 crore. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced the project on June 29, 2024. Villagers from 33 panchayats across the three districts opposed the land acquisition, pointing out that no environment impact assessment had been carried out.

Harinder Singh Thandewala of Thandewala village in Muktsar, who has been spearheading the agitation under the banner of the Punjab Bachao Morcha, said, “Already, the irrigation department of Punjab is providing polluted water in the existing canal network in Malwa Punjab.

What is the guarantee of clean water in the newly proposed Malwa Canal?” He also raised concerns over the proposed source of water for the canal. “Water for the canal was to be taken from Harike Barrage, which is at the confluence point of the Sutlej and Beas rivers in Ferozepur.

This point already has polluted water, as water from the Sutlej passes through Ludhiana, where a drain called Buddha Nallah is highly polluted. This Buddha Nallah water falls into the Sutlej river in Ludhiana, and the river further flows towards Harike Barrage,” he explained.

Farmers have also questioned the proposed depth of the Malwa Canal and whether it could supply water to the larger Malwa region as claimed by the government. Singh hailed the court’s decision. “The court disposed of the petition by halting the land acquisition, which is a great relief for farmers like me,” he said.