Vidarbha farmers pin hopes on Gadkari for irrigation projects

The Vidarbha region, which has registered most suicides by farmers in the country, hopes to get a major boost in irrigation facilities after Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari was given additional charge of the water resources ministry.

Vidarbha always faces drought and crop failure because of a lack of irrigation facilities. Hardly 11-15% irrigated land is available in Vidarbha and the region, particularly its western part witnesses an average three suicide every day.

Gadkari announced a whopping ₹50,000-crore for irrigation in the state over the next two years. The state can increase its irrigated land percentage from 22% to 40% over the period. Boosting irrigation projects would help arrest farmers’ suicides in the stat. Most farmer deaths have been attributed to high debts because of a failed crop.

Major multi-crore irrigation projects, including the ambitious Gosikhurd, are held up due to paucity of funds.

Most projects are pending because of high cost escalation from the estimated cost of the projects. For example, Lower Painganga, an inter-state irrigation project between Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh near SawliSadoba village of Yavatmal district, is now under spotlight over cost escalation, alleged irregularities in awarding tenders and corruption in land acquisition.

The irrigation department made a strong case -- projecting that the Lower Painganga project will help irrigate 1, 60,050 hectares. The project, with an original estimate of ₹1,402.43-crore, got administrative approval on June 26, 1997. Ten years later and when the project remained incomplete, the then Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation the then executive director DP Shirke submitted a revised estimate of ₹10,429.90-crore in 2008-2009 — a seven-fold rise of the original cost. However, work on the project could not be started due to delayed clearance from union environment and forest department.