Patiala, November 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday dedicated two water treatment plants, built at a cost of Rs 432.65 crore at Mandoli and Pabri, to provide clean canal-based drinking water to 316 villages across five Assembly constituencies in Patiala district and adjoining areas.
The project is expected to benefit around 4.5 lakh residents across approximately 75,000 households through a 752-kilometre pipeline network. It aims to address groundwater contamination, including excessive fluoride and heavy metals, while reducing dependence on underground water resources.
Addressing a gathering at Mandoli in Ghanaur constituency, Mann said, “It is unfortunate that even 80 years after Independence, people in these villages were still deprived of the basic necessity of clean drinking water. This work should have been completed decades ago, but previous governments completely ignored the needs of Punjab’s people.”
The Chief Minister said the Mandoli plant had been constructed at a cost of Rs 266.20 crore and the Pabri plant at Rs 166.46 crore. He added that water testing laboratories had been established to monitor quality and a SCADA system installed for continuous monitoring of the supply network. The company executing the project has also been assigned its operation and maintenance for 10 years.
Mann said groundwater extraction in Punjab had reached 156.36 per cent of its natural recharge capacity, while the situation in Patiala was particularly concerning, with extraction estimated at around 208 per cent of the extractable limit.
He also announced that work was underway on bulk surface water supply projects in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, aimed at providing sustainable drinking water to around 78 lakh urban residents.
Highlighting other government initiatives, Mann said the state had expanded its sewage treatment capacity, with 152 sewage treatment plants currently operational at a combined capacity of 2,243.7 million litres per day. This is expected to increase to around 2,676 MLD by December 2027.
Ghanaur MLA Gurlal Singh Ghanour thanked the Chief Minister for completing development projects in the constituency. Cabinet Ministers Hardeep Singh Mundian and Dr Balbir Singh, AAP leaders, MLAs and senior administrative officials attended the event.
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