BHUBANESWAR: The state government has created additional irrigation potential for nearly 4.20 lakh hectare (ha) and improved on-farm water use efficiency for over one lakh hectare in the last seven years under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
Since the programme was launched in 2016-17, the state has extended physical access to water to 59,580 ha of farmland under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) and 70,150 hectare under ‘Har Khet Ko Pani’ (HKKP), two major components of PMKSY, the progress report of Ministry of Jal Shakti has revealed. The Water Resources department was able to enhance the utilisation of irrigation potential on 75,840 ha under command area development and water management (CAD&WM), one of the four sub-components under HKKP.
Under per drop more crop (PDMC), a PMKSY component implemented by the Agriculture Department, another 95,480 ha has been provided irrigation. Similarly, under the watershed development component of PMKSY, the department extended irrigation to 49,050 ha during the same period while another 47,420 hectare was covered under irrigation through repair, renovation and restoration (RRR) of water bodies.
However, the performance of the state in bringing more rain-fed medium and high land under assured irrigation through surface minor irrigation (SMI) and groundwater development is not satisfactory. The expenditure of the state government under SMI and groundwater development is nil in the last seven years. The cumulating achievement on irrigation potential created by the state from 2016-17 to 2021-22 was 3,75,070 ha with fund utilisation to the tune of Rs 2,878 crore, the report said.
The state government has set a target to create additional irrigation potential for one lakh hectare through drip and sprinkler irrigation in 202-23. The department had planned to cover 37,000 ha under drip irrigation and 63,000 ha under sprinklers. Physical achievement by the end of March 2023 was 22,420 ha which is 22.42 per cent of the target. Jajpur district recorded the highest 28.18 per cent by bringing 803 ha out of 2,850 ha planned for the financial year under irrigation under drip and sprinkler.
As many as 39 blocks of the state still have less than 35 per cent irrigation potential. This is despite the government’s claim of having created irrigation facilities for 48.92 lakh ha out of 61.8 lakh ha arable land in the state.