An update on extension in agricultural irrigation schemes of union government
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- The story: Indian government extended the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), launched in 2015 to improve farm productivity, by four more years till 2025-26. The goal is to complete ongoing projects. The programme entails additional spending of ₹93,068 crore.
- Facts: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved central support of ₹37,454 crore to states and ₹20,434.56 crore for servicing debt for loans availed by the Centre for irrigation development during 2016-21. The government also approved the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), Har Khet ko Pani (HKKP), and watershed development components of the PMKSY for four years to 2025-26.
- Under the AIBP, which offers financial support to irrigation projects, the government aims to extend irrigation to 1.39 million hectares by 2025-26. Apart from completing 60 ongoing projects, including the 3- million-hectare command area development, additional projects can also be taken up as part of the programme. In addition, the inclusion criteria have been eased for projects under tribal and drought-prone areas.
- Central funding of 90% of water component for two national projects, namely Renukaji Dam Project (Himachal Pradesh) and Lakhwar Multipurpose Project (Uttarakhand), has been provisioned. The two projects would allow storage in the Yamuna basin, benefitting six states in the upper Yamuna basin, augmenting water supply to Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. It is a major step towards the rejuvenation of Yamuna.
- Under the HKKP, which aims to expand the cultivable area under assured irrigation, the government plans to bring 450,000 hectares under irrigation through minor projects and rejuvenation of water bodies.
- Through the watershed development component, the government envisages the completion of sanctioned projects covering 4.95 million hectares of degraded land and bringing an additional 250,000 hectares under protective irrigation through 2025-26.
- PMKSY: The objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water, enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation and other water saving technologies (More crop per drop), enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices by exploring the feasibility of reusing treated municipal waste water for peri-urban agriculture and attract greater private investment in precision irrigation system.
- PMKSY amalgamated the ongoing schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC).
- The scheme is implemented by Ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development. Ministry of Rural Development mainly undertakes rain water conservation, construction of farm pond, water harvesting structures, small check dams and contour bunding etc. MoWR, RD &GR, undertakes various measures for creation of assured irrigation source, construction of diversion canals, field channels, water diversion/lift irrigation, including development of water distribution systems.
- Programme architecture of PMKSY is to adopt a ‘decentralized State level planning and projectised execution’ structure that allows States to draw up their own irrigation development plans based on District Irrigation Plan (DIP) and State Irrigation Plan (SIP).
- The programme is supervised and monitored by an Inter-Ministerial National Steering Committee (NSC) under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister with Union Ministers from concerned Ministries.
- HKP: Har Khet Ko Pani, another component of the PMKSY, focuses on expanding physical access on farms and increasing the cultivable area under assured irrigation through surface water projects and by restoring water bodies. This is targeted to bring another 4.5 lakh hectares under irrigation by 2026. The Cabinet has now expanded inclusion criteria for water body rejuvenation projects, including both urban and rural water bodies, and enhancing Central assistance from 25% to 60%.
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the reason irrigation has not become institutionalised in nearly half of Indian farms, who depend on their persoal tubewells or water wells, and deplete the water table. (2) To what extent will the interliking of rivers project be useful for India? Explain.
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