BHUBANESWAR: Coming under fire from opposition political parties over the Government’s failure in agriculture sector, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday asked officials to achieve the target to bring 10 lakh hectare (ha) additional land under irrigation coverage by 2019.
Addressing engineers of Water Resources Department through video conference, the Chief Minister asked them to fulfil the promise made by the State Government to farmers to bring additional land under irrigation coverage. The target of bringing 2.6 lakh ha land under irrigation coverage has been set for 2016-17.
The Chief Minister said the target should be set for all the sub-sectors down to the level of assistant and junior engineers to ensure accountability. He asked the Department to continue implementation of all incomplete projects by resolving targets. He said 160 incomplete irrigation projects should be completed within the year without fail.
Stating that mega lift irrigation projects are important for creating additional irrigation potential, the Chief Minister said there should be close monitoring to complete at least 40 mega lift points during the year. He asked Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation (OLIC) to energise deep borewells, for which farmers’ shares have been collected, as early as possible.
Announcing the Government’s decision to restructure the drainage organisation, Naveen said it should take up large number of creek irrigation projects in non-irrigated pockets of coastal district. He also asked engineers to ensure efficient use of water in close collaboration with agriculture field establishment. Additional Chief Secretary in the CMO UN Behera, Principal Secretary in Water Resources Department PK Jena and senior officials were present.