VIJAYAWADA: The State government has decided to sink more borewells under the YSR Jalakala scheme. As against 1.72 lakh applications approved by the government as on March 29, around 11,000 borewells were sunk in 371 mandals.
After approving the applications, the drilling agency will conduct groundwater surveys and sink borewells in the fields of the respective farmers. The scheme was rolled out to benefit the small and medium farmers who have no open water source for irrigation. Borewells will be sunk free of cost to the needy farmers under the scheme.
According to the officials, out of the total 2.08 lakh applications received from farmers in both online and offline modes, the government approved 1.72 lakh so far. Out of the total surveyed 34,726 applications, the government was able to sink 11,000 borewells and is preparing to increase the number in the days to come.
An official of the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development department told TNIE that the good rainfall received during the water years 2020-21 and 2021-22 increased the groundwater levels across the State.
“We have decided to sink borewells in the summer season to ensure better functioning so as to extend the desired benefits to the farmers,” the official said.
Stating that a customised software was developed for effective implementation of the programme, he said as many as 158 rigs are working in different constituencies. According to the data, parched Anantapur stood top with a whopping 50,222 applications from farmers for sinking borewells. With only 6,467 applications, Krishna district stood at the bottom of the table.
