Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme and Har Khet Ko Pani Under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

2698. SHRI DIBYENDU ADHIKARI

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has proposes to have any special package for the irrigation projects to address agrarian distress in the country under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY);

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the action taken/proposed to be taken by the Government for hilly and drought prone areas of the State of West Bengal?

(a) & (b) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched during the year 2015-16, with an aim to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc.

PMKSY is an umbrella scheme, consisting of two major components being implemented by this Ministry, namely, Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP), and Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP). HKKP, in turn, consists of four sub-components, being Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM), Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI), Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies, and Ground Water (GW) Development component. However, the CAD&WM sub- component of HKKP is being implemented pari-passu with AIBP.

In addition, PMKSY also consists of two components being implemented by other Ministries. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component, being implemented by Department of Agriculture Farmers Welfare, was implemented as a part of PMKSY till December, 2021. Further, Watershed Development component (WDC) of PMKSY is being implemented by Department of Land Resources.

Special provisions have been kept for agrarian distressed regions of the country in some of the components of PMKSY being implemented by this Ministry. Under AIBP, projects belonging to special category areas, namely, those benefitting Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) & Desert Development Programme (DDP) areas, Tribal area, Flood prone area, Left Wing Extremist area,

 

Bundelkhand, Vidarbha, Marathwada and KBK (Odisha), are provided central assistance at 60%, as against 25% for other areas (except north eastern and hilly states where central assistance is prescribed at 90%). Further, The advanced stage criteria is also not applicable for projects having more than 50% of their command benefitting Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) or Desert Development Programme (DDP) area, Tribal area, Flood prone area, left wing extremism affected area, Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi (KBK) regions of Odisha, Vidarbha & Marathwada regions of Maharashtra and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh, or any project in State having irrigation (net irrigated area as percentage of net sown area) below national average.

Further, under SMI component of PMKSY being implemented by this Ministry, schemes benefitting tribal, drought prone development programme, desert development programme, flood prone, or left wing extremism affected areas are eligible for financial assistance under the scheme. Further, additional relaxations have also been provided under the scheme to cater to special category States: North-Eastern states, Hilly states (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand) and drought prone undivided Koraput, Bolangir and Kalahandi (KBK) districts of Odisha, Bundelkhand region of UP and MP, and Marathwada & Vidharbha region of Maharashtra for projects benefitting  provisions. Schemes benefitting areas other than the above mentioned areas, are not eligible for financial assistance under the scheme.

(c) Government of India provides technical support and, in some cases, partial financial assistance in terms with its existing schemes for the irrigation projects. However, it is for the State Government concerned to take up irrigation projects as per their own resources and priorities.

Teesta Barrage project, which aims at creating irrigation potential of 5.27 lakh hectare in terai areas of West Bengal, especially in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, is being provided central assistance under National projects scheme of this Ministry. Though the project was to be completed by 2015, however, in view of land acquisition issues, so far irrigation potential of 1.97 lakh hectare has been created. The State Government is reviewing the scope of work by exploring the other alternatives like pipe irrigation system.

Further, the State Government has informed that it has implemented many medium and minor irrigation projects under State development schemes to ensure irrigation to drought prone areas in Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal.

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