Punjab to amend canal law to prevent water theft

Chandigarh, April 5 (IANS) The Punjab government is likely to amend the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act of 1873 to check the growing malpractice of water theft in the state, a spokesman said here Thursday.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the irrigation department to moot a proposal for amending the act. He said relevant amendments may be suggested to include a punishment clause to check unscrupulous persons indulging in theft of water.

The amendments in the act will be on the lines of the anti-water theft law in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Punjab, the food granary of the country which contributes over 60 percent of food grains to the national kitty, has a big network of irrigation canals to supply water for agriculture.