HYDERABAD: Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday informed the Assembly that the government would create an additional 9.93 lakh acres of new ayacut by next Kharif. Speaking on behalf of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the minister said that despite the economic slowdown, the State government has allocated Rs 8,356 crore for the irrigation sector in the Budget and has also decided to raise loans to the tune of Rs 12,300 crore this year. He also said that the 14 lakh acres under SRSP would get irrigation water from KLIS by next Rabi.
Responding to Congress member Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy’s comment that the budgetary allocations for irrigation were “disappointing”, Harish Rao said: “The Congress members thought the government would not spend any money on irrigation due to economic slowdown.
However, the government has allocated sufficient money for the sector in the Budget. Congress also thought the TRS government could not implement the crop loan waiver. But the government allocated Rs 6,000 crore for the same in the Budget.