Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Wednesday, 1 July 2026 highlighted the completion of the Shahpur Kandi National Project on the Ravi river, calling it a transformative moment for the long irrigation-starved Kandi belt of the Jammu region. The minister noted that the project, whose foundation stone was laid in 1984, has now begun delivering abundant irrigation water to districts that had historically lacked it.

Context

In his post on X, Dr. Jitendra Singh observed that the Shahpur Kandi project 'took off only after PM Narendra Modi took over' following decades of stagnation. He added that in years to come, the next generation of Kathua and Samba districts 'may ask their elders what is the meaning of Kandi and why this region was called Kandi' — a remark underscoring how thoroughly the project is expected to change the agricultural character of the area. The word 'Kandi' traditionally refers to the semi-arid, unirrigated upland tracts of the Jammu foothills.

Policy Backdrop

The Shahpur Kandi National Project was first conceived as a multipurpose irrigation and hydropower scheme on the Ravi river. Former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi laid its foundation stone in 1984, but the project remained largely stalled through successive governments over four decades. After 2014, the central government classified it among priority national projects and extended sustained financial and administrative support to push it toward completion. The project's trajectory mirrors a broader pattern of the post-2014 policy push to revive long-pending water infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir and reduce regional disparities in irrigation access.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are farming communities in Kathua and Samba — two districts in the Jammu division that have historically depended on rain-fed agriculture due to the absence of reliable canal irrigation. The Kandi belt's semi-arid terrain made cultivation precarious and yields unpredictable, keeping rural incomes suppressed. Completion of the project is expected to expand the net irrigated area in these districts, potentially enabling crop diversification and improving agricultural productivity for thousands of farm households.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the pace at which the newly completed infrastructure is operationalised and the actual area brought under canal irrigation in Kathua and Samba. Any hydropower output from the project's power component will also be closely watched as a measure of the scheme's full economic contribution to the Jammu region. Similar long-pending river and irrigation projects in the broader Jammu belt are likely to face renewed scrutiny and public pressure for expedited completion in the wake of this milestone.