To provide water to every farm and job to every hand in rural Maharashtra, the state government has set a target to complete 327 irrigation projects with a budgetary allocation of Rs 57,400 crore by 2019. This will help bring 7.5 lakh hectares of additional land under irrigation.
In the last 30 months, the state government has accorded highest priority to the irrigation sector, undertaking policy reforms to plug financial bleeding and thin spreading of resources. The government aims to enhance the irrigation potential from 18 per cent to 27, the maximum given the geographical conditions and terrain in Maharashtra. The national average is 42 per cent.
In a clear departure from the past, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has imposed a ban on new irrigation projects. Instead, he has accorded priority to completion of ongoing projects.
Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan said, “At present, there are 376 irrigation projects in the state, of which 67 are major, 83 medium and 226 minor projects. The amount required to complete them is Rs 84,000 crore. There are 49 projects worth Rs 26,600 crore that are facing problems with land acquisition, forest clearances, etc. The government has decided to keep them on hold and focus on the rest of the 327 projects, which require Rs 57,400 crore.”
A senior official in the water resources ministry said, “The state budget allocation in the next three years will be Rs 24,000 crore. Loans from NABARD (for central projects under PMKSY) is Rs 12,770 crore and central assistance Rs 3,830 crore. Loan from NABARD to the state government (Rs 2,000 crore) and raising bonds from markets (in next three years) of Rs 14,800 crore sums up to the required amount of Rs 57,400 crore.”
Former chairman of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probnig the irrigation scam and water management expert Madhav Chitale said, “A scientific policy along with fiscal discipline is integral to maximising the irrigation potential.” Apart from the irrigation projects, emphasis on water conservation through jalyukta shivar would help tackle the water scarcity and raise the water tables, he said.
Of the 42 recommendations made by the Chitale committee to plug corruption, the government has implemented 38.
Those that remain on paper include evaluation of canals using remote sensors and levying water charges to stop the misuse and diversion of dam water for sugarcane cultivation, leading to drought.
The state government has proposed central assistance of Rs 7,187 crore for 107 projects in 14 suicide-prone districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada; and Rs 3,500 crore for seven projects in drought-prone areas.
Of the total 99 projects under PMKSY, 26 are in Maharashtra, proposed to be completed by December 2019, creating an additional irrigation potential of 2.56 lakh hectares.
Greater Centre-state coordination saw the chief minister succeed in getting environmental clearance for 10 crucial projects, which were on hold for 10-15 years. The projects are spread in Vidarbha (4), Marathwada (3), Western Maharashtra (2) and Konkan (1). For the last 10 years, the environment ministry had kept the Krishna-Marathwada project on hold, resulting in work coming to a grinding halt.
In 12 projects, forest land was handed over after the environment ministry gave the nod, paving the way for work to start. The projects in Vidarbha includes Jigaon, Gosikhurd right bank canal, Bhimdi, Khindsi feeder canal in Pencha project and Bhimalkasa Ingalwadi. Whereas in Western Maharashtra, it is Nira Deoghar and Gunjavani, the Dhondalpada diversion scheme, Panzan left canal and Shelgaon barrage.
