ROURKELA: Almost two-third of the total agriculture land in rain-fed Sundargarh district is left idle every year during the rabi crop season due to lack of assured irrigation.
For the ongoing rabi crop season 2025-26, the irrigation programme has been chalked out for 63,548 hectare (ha) of the total around 1 lakh ha area. But the actual irrigation scenario remains way below.
Reliable sources said in the current season, there are plans to irrigate 9,406 ha from major and medium irrigation points, 3,454 ha from minor irrigation projects with surface water, 49,638 ha from micro lift irrigation projects of OLIC, OAIC and other sources including micro river lift, dug-wells and cluster bore-wells, besides 1,050 ha from mega lift projects totalling 63,548 ha.
In the current situation, assured irrigation coverage of above 63 per cent as claimed for the current season looks highly impossible.
The sources further said a substantial amount of minor and lift irrigation projects are lying either permanently defunct or not working due to non-payment of bills by the respective pani panchayats. While surface water level has significantly dried up, groundwater level has also dipped. Irrigation water would be practically available for maximum 40,000 ha in the rabi crop season 2025-26.
Under the present circumstances, the five medium irrigation dams of Pitamahal, Kansbahal, Rukuda, Sarafgarh and Talsara with designed ayacut areas of 17,585 ha are relatively in a better position to support the ongoing crop season with live water storage of 89.87 per cent to 98.76 per cent.
Sources said every year during the rabi crop season, almost two-third of total agriculture land and majority of small and marginal farmers in Sundargarh are forced to sit idle as usually 98,000-1,02,000 ha of the total 3.02 lakh ha agriculture lands are taken for cultivation.
Incidentally, the district administration had claimed irrigation achievement of 1,45,165 ha during the monsoon-backed kharif crop season 2024.
Chief district agriculture officer (CDAO) of Sundargarh LB Mallick said despite a robust monsoon, water flow in rivers has substantially dipped. Other surface water sources too have dried up, posing challenge for cultivation in the ongoing rabi crop season.
The harvesting of standing kharif crops is likely to be over by November. Good rainfall during the first or second week of December would be of immense help to regain the soil moisture to support rabi cultivation, the CDAO added.