The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ਸਰਕਾਰ in ਪੰਜਾਬ has initiated a significant project aimed at cleaning and restoring 15,000 ਪਿੰਡ ponds (chappars) across 13,500 villages in the state. The ਸਰਕਾਰ has allocated a budget of Rs 4,573 crore for this ambitious undertaking.
Rural Development and Panchayats ਮੰਤਰੀ Tarunpreet Singh Sond stated that the project had a “soft launch” two weeks ago, during which 1,100 ਪਿੰਡ ponds were dewatered and desilted. The full-scale launch will take place after the wheat harvest, allowing the water in the ponds to be redirected to adjacent empty fields.
The ਸਰਕਾਰ plans to follow successful models like the Seechewal Model and the Thapar Model, along with methods approved by the ਪੰਜਾਬ Pollution Control Board, to clean and restore the ponds. The process includes dewatering the ponds, removing the silt, and then using a scientific method to purify the water before it is allowed to percolate back into the ground. This will involve collecting the water in a separate chamber, cleaning it, and storing it in another.
In cases where ponds are too deep, the ਸਰਕਾਰ intends to resilt them to improve their functionality. ਮੰਤਰੀ Sond emphasized that this was the first time any ਸਰਕਾਰ in ਪੰਜਾਬ had taken up such a large-scale effort to clean ਪਿੰਡ ponds, a project that has long been needed, as local residents have frequently complained about overflowing and unclean ponds.
“This project was born out of concern for the suffering of villagers,” Sond said, pointing out that previous governments had not taken action in this regard.
