Phina Singh irrigation project gets ₹55.5 crore from Centre
The long-awaited Phina Singh irrigation project in Kangra district has received a sanction of Rs. 55.51 crore from the Central Government under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) for States annual plan 2025-26.
The project has been stalled for over a decade and the state government in several rounds of talks and deliberations with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, has taken up this matter since the work on the project was being affected due to insufficient funding. The Phina Singh project in Nurpur in Kangra district was started at an initial cost of ₹204 crore in 2011, which has now escalated to ₹646 crore.
The project aims to interlink Kalam Nallah and Chaki River — two tributaries of the Beas river flowing through Nurpur. It also involves constructing a concrete gravity dam across the Chaki river. Water from the dam is to be transported through a 4,307-m tunnel to irrigate 4,025 hectares across 60 villages in Nurpur.
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, said, 'I personally also advocated for the release of funds so that the project could be completed well in time and also took up several other key issues related to this project before the Centre. This project had been stalled for over a decade, but it has now emerged as a ray of hope for the farmers. Upon completion, the scheme will provide irrigation facilities to thousands of hectares of land, significantly boosting agricultural productivity.'
In 2023, Himachal deputy CM had sought assistance from the Centre for the completion of the project. After repeated appeals by the state government, the project was finally included under PMKSY in July 2024, paving the way for financial assistance. The Central Government will cover 50% of the total construction cost.
The work of the project was started in 2011 and still is under active construction, more than 50% physical progress of minor works has been achieved so far. An expenditure of around ₹300 crore has been incurred by the state government. The cost of the project has been escalated due to enhancement in labour and material rates and modification from Medium Irrigation to Multipurpose project with power generation and road connectivity in addition to the irrigation components.
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