Uttarakhand’s Cabinet on October 4 approved placing the Uttarakhand Irrigation and Drainage Bill, 2026, before the Assembly. The proposal would replace the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act, 1873, with legislation intended to reflect the state’s geographical and water-management needs.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired the meeting at the NHPC complex in Banbasa, Champawat district. The state Information and Public Relations Department confirmed the meeting; reports by PTI’s Hindi service, carried by Hindustan, and the detailed Devbhoomi Media account identified approval to table the Bill.
Jagran’s correspondent report described proposed provisions concerning canal construction, water management, unauthorised water use and damage to canal structures. The proposed legal text was not available in the reviewed material, so particular penalties and distance-based restrictions are not presented here as settled requirements.
The verified step is Cabinet clearance for a legislative proposal. These reports do not establish Assembly passage, assent or commencement. Farmers and other water users should therefore not treat the announcement as proof that the existing law has already been replaced.