PATNA: In keeping with the instruction of CM Nitish Kumar, the minor irrigation department (MID) would prepare its roadmap incorporating old and new schemes for augmenting the irrigation potential of the state by implementing them speedily over the next five years during the NDA-II government.
MID minister Awadhesh Kumar Kushwaha, who reviewed the activities of the department at the state headquarters on Saturday to know the current status regarding the old schemes and new ones under implementation in the 2010-11 fiscal, said that the roadmap so prepared would be discussed with the CM before the final draft is ready incorporating changes, if any. The officials and engineers from the fields provided their feedback. MID principal secretary Sudhir Kumar was also present at the review meet.
The MID principal secretary said that the department, in comparison with the water resources department (WRD), provides irrigation coverage to two-thirds of the state’s arable land. He also said that the CM Ahar Paeen Yojana (CMAPY) was being implemented vigorously in south Bihar districts.
Incidentally, the districts concerned are not only drought-prone, but the underground water table in these districts has gone down. It is being felt that CMAPY would also serve the purpose of keeping the groundwater resources recharged. As many as 23,000 schemes are under implementation under CMAPY, the MID principal secretary said.
As far as ambitious tubewell project is concerned, the department, for the first time, has earmarked Rs 18.5 crore for repairing the channels and `nalkoop (tubewell) nulla’. Since the working of the state tubewells requires power input and its persistent availability to draw groundwater for irrigation purposes, the department has also been providing Rs 20,000 per state tubewell as running cost to keep them energized and functional. The MID principal secretary said that the department had decided to renovate 100 tubewells every year.
With the fund provided by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), the work has been going on to construct 3,000 new tubewells during the current fiscal. Nabard has provided Rs 167 crore to the MID in this regard. Of this sum, Rs 147 crore has already been utilized. From the fund so extended, as many as 2,759 state tubewells have been constructed. The remaining amount, along with the money (Rs 45 crore) from the department’s own plan resources, would be spent on their energization. The annual plan of the department is worth Rs 221 crore.
Read more: Nitish-II plan for better irrigation – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Nitish-II-plan-for-better-irrigation-/articleshow/7044939.cms#ixzz17Gm7TM7D