Mumbai, July 9 (IANS) Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan has said that 758 irrigation projects have been completed in the Vidarbha region, and another 87 were under implementation.

In a written reply, the Minister told the state Assembly on Wednesday that of the total 858 irrigation projects, 758 projects have been completed as of June 2024 by the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation in the region.

Of the balance 100 projects, the work on 13 projects could not start as the administrative approval, including permission from the forest department, had already lapsed. The remaining 87 irrigation projects are under various stages of implementation.

He said this while responding to a question by Pravin Datke and others.

Of the total Vidarbha’s irrigation potential of 22.31 lakh hectare, 14.23 lakh hectare of land has been irrigated, which comes to 64 per cent till June 2024. The implementation of 87 projects as of today is under way while 12 projects are pending due to forest land and other reasons. The irrigation potential of 87 irrigation projects is 12.60 lakh hectare, of which 4.81 lakh hectare have been irrigated by the end of June 2024.

According to the Index and Backlog Committee, the irrigation backlog in six districts from the Vidarbha region by the end of June 1994 was reported at 7,84,720 hectares. Of which, the irrigation backlog of 7,81,185 hectares, which is 94 per cent, has been cleared by the end of June 2025. The irrigation backlog of 43,535 hectares still exists in Akola and Buldhana.

The minister told the state council that the government is providing funds for the completion of pending irrigation projects through the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchan Yojana, Baliraja Jalsanjeevani Yojana, loan under NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and partial grant.

The fund is being provided as per the fund disbursement formula devised by the state Governor and the state’s financial status. He said that the fund is being provided to complete irrigation projects to clear the backlog from the Amravati division and also for the Gosikhurd National Project from the Nagpur region.

–IANS

sj/dpb