RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Aug.3: Congress legislator Pradeep Yadav today challenged the claim of the government suggesting that the state has potential of irrigating 41.44 percent of the land.
The Government’s claim is limited to paper, he said. If 41 percent land is irrigated then why is the State drought-hit, he questioned.
The situation came after Water Resources Minister Mithilesh Thakur was replying to a query of Mahagama MLA Deepika Pandey Singh on irrigation potential of the state. He while claiming irrigation potential of 41 percent informed that irrigation potential has been created in 3.85 lakh hectares through major and medium irrigation schemes and 6.19 lakh hectares i.e. total 10.04 lakh hectares in the minor irrigation sector as per the fourth minor irrigation census.
The minister said that 25 schemes under the major and medium irrigation sector are being implemented in different phases in the state. On completion of these schemes, annual irrigation potential of 5.35 lakh hectare will be created.
MLA Singh has raised the question on irrigation facility saying due to lack of proper irrigation facility in the state there has been five droughts in the last 10 years. She was of the opinion that if the government kept on repairing the irrigation schemes of the era of Nehru and Indira Gandhi, then there would never have been a drought. According to her, at present only 27 percent of the land is irrigated while in the neighbouring state Bihar, its 82 percent and in the Chhattisgarh which was formed with Jharkhand it is 85 percent. She expressed her concern over Jhalco lift irrigation project saying it is lying dead and suggested revival for old projects also.
