Punjab has scaled up its river desilting and flood protection programme in the aftermath of the devastating floods of 2025, with the state government claiming record investment and a shift toward scientific river management practices.According to official data, in the largest ever such exercise, Punjab desilted 40.38 crore cubic feet of sediment between 2024 and June 2026, compared to virtually no recorded desilting activity before 2024. Though the desilting operations in major rivers are under judicial lens at various forums, the state has managed to tweak its policy so that the legal hurdles can be tackled.The recent ban on desilting, citing it as a commercial activity after the state’s policy of sharing total volume of silt removed with the contractors hired for the job, was challenged before the National Green Tribunal, the government has now asked the contractors to just remove the silt and place it on the river/water channel embankments. This will now be used only for strengthening the embankments.Over the past few months, Punjab has explored multiple approaches to clear the legal hurdles and carry out desilting before the monsoon, including involving the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in utilising excavated material for infrastructure projects. More than 100 sites were offered to the NHAI, which selected 47 and commenced work on 36. The government also offered some sites to landowners free of charge.Officials said till 2022, desilting operations were carried out under the Department of Mines and Geology without a clear distinction between mining and desilting, and without scientific studies or dedicated guidelines.A major policy shift came in 2023 when the state adopted the National Framework of Sediment Management (NFSM), issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Following the framework, Punjab constituted a State Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), bringing together officials from water resources, forests, finance, district administrations, the Central Water Commission, the Army and the Border Security Force to evaluate and approve desilting projects.After the floods of 2025, the government undertook an extensive assessment of silt accumulation in rivers and approved 182 desilting sites with an estimated sediment volume of 137 crore cubic feet. “Work is currently underway at 52 sites involving around 16 crore cubic feet material,” said an official in the Water Resources department.“Alongside desilting, Punjab has also launched an extensive flood mitigation programme. The government used satellite imagery to assess flood damage and dispatched teams to Assam and Tamil Nadu to study flood management practices. Based on those learnings, Punjab has begun deploying newer technologies such as geobags, geotubes, jumbo bags, and bamboo screens in addition to conventional stone-boulder protection works. The state has invested Rs 423 crore in flood mitigation works within a year, a figure substantially higher than annual expenditures recorded in previous years. Since the 2025 floods, 316 flood protection works have been completed, while another 79 projects are underway and targeted for completion before July 1, 2026,” said an officer in the state Water Resources department.Rs 423 crore investedAround 40.38 crore cubic feet sediment removed between 2024 and June 2026The government has approved 182 desilting sites with an estimated sediment volume of 137 crore cubic feetA sum of Rs 423 crore has been invested to undertake flood mitigation exercise within a year