The State Government on Monday set a target of investing a whopping Rs22,000 crore during next five years for creating additional irrigation potential in 9.36 lakh hectares.
The ambitious programme of expanding the irrigation potential would be undertaken from the current fiscal till 2016-17, informed Urban Development Minister Raghu Nath Mohanty on behalf of the Chief Minister while replying to a debate relating to the admissibility of an adjournment motion on failure of the State Government in irrigation front in the Assembly on Monday.
Refuting the allegation of the Opposition that the Government had failed to provide irrigation facilities during its 12-year tenure, the Urban Development Minister said that during the period from 2000-01 to 2010-11, irrigation facilities had been provided to additional 5.28 lakh hectares. Besides, a number of steps had been taken for the development of farm sector and farmers.
Mohanty said that during the 12th Five Year Plan, the State Government had targeted to provide irrigation facilities to additional 15 per cent of land. Under the programme, as many as 15,000 check dams would be constructed across the State and as many as 1.50 lakh hectares of crop land would be provided with irrigation through 75,000 deep bore wells, he said. Besides, during the next five years, as many as 9,704 lift irrigation projects would be set up to provide irrigation to 1.79 lakh hectares of land.
The programme, the Minister said, envisaged setting up of 174 mega lift irrigation projects to provide irrigation to 2.14 lakh hectares. He informed the House the Government had a target to complete as many as fifteen ongoing major and medium irrigation projects, including Kanpur, Lower Indra, Upper Indravati extention, Renali right canal, Subarnarekha, Anandpur barrage, Telingiri, Reta, Manjore, Rukura, Baghalati, Rajua, Mahendra Tanaya barrage, Rengali left canal and Deo irrigation project during the 12th plan period.
The Minister, however, denied the allegation that the State Government was providing more water to the industrial units. He said that the Biju Setu Scheme was being reviewed so as to take up more water harvesting structures. However, the entire opposition Congress and BJP members staged a walkout expressing their dissatisfaction over the Minister’s reply particularly over the Government’s silence over the question of implementation of the important Lower Suktel irrigation project in Balangir district.
Participating in the discussion, Congress members Santosh Singh Saluja ,Naba Kishre Das, Prafulla Makji and Pasad Harichandan slammed the State Government for its peculiar election promise. While during the 2000 election, the ruling party had promised 100 per cent irrigation facilities, it came down to 50 per cent during 2004 and again the per cent dwindled to 35 in 2009. Even the Government had failed to honour its commitment and forgotten to provide 35 per cent irrigation facilities.
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