Haryana Minister Shruti Choudhry Reviews Monsoon Preparedness, Stresses Flood Control and Drinking Water Security Across Haryana

Chandigarh, June 9: Haryana’s Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry has instructed officials to remain fully vigilant and proactive in the field to ensure all necessary preparations are made to effectively deal with possible waterlogging and flood situations during the upcoming monsoon season. She clearly stated that there should be no shortage of drinking water in any part of the state and that special monitoring must be done on the water supply system. She emphasized that all flood control-related projects must be completed on time so that no waterlogging situation arises during the monsoon.

The Minister held a review meeting on Monday in Chandigarh with officials from the Irrigation and Public Health Departments regarding water arrangements and preparation for potential waterlogging during the monsoon.

In the meeting, the Minister was informed that out of the total 873 drains in the state, 676 need to be cleaned, of which 470 have already been cleaned. The target is to complete the cleaning of the remaining drains by June 20. She also collected district-wise reports from all District Collectors regarding short-term, medium-term, and long-term flood control projects.

It was also informed that in the 56th meeting of the Haryana State Drought Relief and Flood Control Board, 209 short-term projects were approved, of which work on 194 is in progress and 8 have been completed. The Minister instructed that officers must work efficiently and ensure the projects are completed within the stipulated timeline, warning of strict action in case of delays.

Public Health Engineering Department Commissioner and Secretary Mohammad Shayin informed the Minister that in districts where waterlogging is more likely during rains, arrangements such as the purchase of various types of pumps, motors, panels, laying pipelines, and cleaning of drains and sewer systems will be completed promptly.

The Irrigation Minister also directed that wherever drain cleaning work is being done, officers of the rank of Superintending Engineer must visit the site and share the progress live or through posts on social media to ensure public awareness and transparency.

Shruti Choudhry reiterated that preparedness before floods is the guarantee of public safety, and the state government places the highest priority on the welfare and security of every citizen.

Chairperson of the Haryana Water Resources Authority, Keshni Anand Arora, and other department officials were also present at the meeting.