Jammu, 18 June (H.S.): Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday the Shahpur Kandi dam project was on the the back burner for decades before the Narendra Modi government revived it and is now near completion.

The long-delayed project is a story of perseverance and development, which is set to transform the bordering districts of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab through better irrigation and growth in agriculture, the minister said.

Highlighting the significance of the project , Singh said, Following the Indus Valley Treaty of 1960, India's share comprised three rivers, namely Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, of which Ravi was the largest river.

Somewhere in late 1970s, a national project was envisaged on Ravi river, so that the Indian share of the water could be used on the Indian side without allowing it to flow it into Pakistan, Singh said on X.

He said the foundation stone for the Shahpur Kandi project was laid by then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.

However, after her assassination later that year, the project was pushed to the back burner and remained neglected for decades due to the indifference of successive governments at the Centre and in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, he said.

According to the minister, the project received a fresh push after the BJP-led government assumed office at the Centre in 2014.

He said efforts were initiated to revive the project by involving the chief secretaries of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, preparing fresh documentation and resolving pending issues.

Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally announced the revival of the project during a public rally in Jammu in February 2019.

The project is now almost complete and its completion marks the fulfilment of a decades-old aspiration of the people of the region, he said.

The Minister said that the Shahpur Kandi project will provide substantial irrigation benefits and boost agricultural productivity in the border districts of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of the region.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar