Chandigarh Haryana government planned to install recharge shafts in sweet water zones to minimise depletion of underground water table and damage caused by the floods in the state. While stating this here on Sunday, state finance and irrigation minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav said that initially the project would be launched on pilot basis and about 100 recharge shafts in different pockets of the sweet water zones would be installed. On success of this project, the installation of suchre-charge shafts would be replicated on larger scale for sustainable development of ground water in sweet water zones of the state. This would also reduce flood problem as water collected in depressions could easily be drained out through such recharge shafts, he added. CaptYadav said that the department had also implemented several other schemes for replenishing underground water table in thestate. These schemes were at various stages of completion or construction. To utilise the surplus water of Yamuna river during monsoon for recharge of the ground water, construction of Dadupur Shahabad Nalvi Irrigation Scheme costing R267 crore had been taken up and its first phase had already been completed, whereas the second phase was scheduled to be completed by June, 2011. A scheme costing R1.28 crore had been approved for construction of escape reservoir at RD 41350/L Loharu Canal for utilizing surplus water of Loharu Canal due to failure of electricity at Pump House number 2. The escapedwater of Loharu Canal would be utilised for recharging and back lifting into the canal, he added. The minister said that the de-silting work of Ottu Lake in first and second phase had been completed and it was proposed to further deepen the lake by four feet in third phase to provide additional storage capacity for which the work will be started after drying up of the bed. The department had proposed to repair, restore and renovate the Bibipur Lake in district Kurukshetra at a cost of R117 crore for recharge of ground water table and providing irrigation facilities during monsoon season. It was also proposed to create a water body in the shape of Kotla Lake in Mewat district at a cost of R116 crore, he added.