Mumbai, July 15 (IANS) Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said on Tuesday in the State Council that the state government is in the middle of increasing the irrigation capacity to make the state drought-free.

He was replying to a half-hour discussion on the issue raised by member Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil.

Minister Vikhe Patil said: “There is a plan to make nearly 21 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water available for the Krishna Marathwada project. For this, a decision has been taken to divert 115 TMC of water. Along with this, 23.7 TMC of water will be diverted from Ujani Dam to Dharashiv district. Water supply will be provided through lift irrigation in some talukas of this area.”

“For this project, the Maharashtra Resilience Development Program ( MIDP) is being implemented with the help of the World Bank. Flood water diversion is the main scheme in this and it has been approved on March 13, 2024. He said that the flood water will be put to good use within a period of two months,” the Minister added.

“The survey report of the project is expected soon and the work is expected to be completed before the next monsoon. The preliminary estimate is to bring about 55 TMC of water from Krishna valley to Bhima valley. The facts will be presented after the survey,” he said.

The cost of this important infrastructure project is expected to be around Rs 4,000 crore but with the World Bank funding, there is no obstacle left, he added.

He expressed hope that the tenders for the project will be floated this year.

A new policy is being prepared for the removal of silt from dams like Ujani, Jayakwadi, Koyna and other such dams, he said.

This policy will soon be presented before the state Cabinet and the state government is trying to get its approval, the Minister added.

Talking about barrages in the state, Minister Vikhe Patil said: “As much as 24-25 TMC of water was flowing from Ujani Dam. Now that a separate pipeline is available for Solapur Municipal Corporation, the flow of water in the riverbed will stop. Therefore, 11 new barrages have been proposed on the Bhima River to prevent irrigation problems for the farmers along the river.”

Meanwhile, State Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike told the State Legislative Council that the government is committed to ensuring that the benefits of the Shabari Gharkul Yojana, which was launched with the aim of providing shelter to Scheduled Tribe families in Maharashtra, are available to people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community.

He was replying to a query raised by member Abhijit Vanjari regarding the Shabari Gharkul Yojana.

Minister Uike said that the main objective of Shabari Gharkul Yojana is to provide assistance to tribal families who are not eligible for other schemes through Gharkul.

“Under this scheme, the eligible beneficiary gets a total of Rs 1,20,000. Out of this, Rs 15,000 is given through Direct Benefit Transfer as soon as the house is sanctioned, Rs 45,000 for the construction of the base of the house, Rs 40,000 at the roofing stage and the remaining amount is given after the house is completed. Along with this, additional funds are given as per the wages under MNREGA.”

The target of Shabari Gharkul Yojana for the period 2021-22 to 2024-25 was 2,41,670, of which 1,80,484 Gharkuls have been completed and 61,186 cases are incomplete for which the state government has started the second phase from April 1, the Minister added.

“It is the government’s resolve that no tribal family should be deprived of a Gharkul Yojana. Many cases have been delayed due to some technical difficulties, lack of space and migration or issues of heirs. However, these projects will be completed in the second phase,” he said.

Minister Uike added that those people who were living on encroached land before 2011 have had their houses regularised.

For those who do not have a plots, provision has been made to acquire lands for a house through financial assistance under the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Yojana, he said.

–IANS

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