State focuses on irrigation to make farming sustainable

SHIMLA: Despite topographical constraints and 80 per cent of cultivated rainfed area, the state has made rapid strides in foodgrains and vegetable production which has touched 34 lakh tonnes in the last five years and the government has shifted the focus to irrigation to make agriculture sustainable.

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 7

Despite topographical constraints and 80 per cent of cultivated rainfed area, the state has made rapid strides in foodgrains and vegetable production which has touched 34 lakh tonnes in the last five years and the government has shifted the focus to irrigation to make agriculture sustainable.

The multi-pronged strategy adopted by the government focuses on command area development, micro and medium irrigation schemes, rainfed area development, lift irrigation and borewell scheme, flow irrigation scheme and solar irrigation schemes. Despite a large number of schemes constructed by the Irrigation and Public Health Department, water had not reached farms due to non-development of command area and an area of 1.33 lakh hectare was yet to be covered under the command area development for which Rs 500 crore was required, sources in the department said.

To accomplish the task in five years, the government has provided Rs 130 crore for this purpose during 2018-19. Besides, 111 minor irrigation schemes to be constructed at a cost of Rs 338 crore and covering 17,881 hectare land during three years have been approved under the “Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) and an allocation of Rs 277 crore has been made for the current year.

An allocation of Rs 85 crore has been made for the early completion of medium irrigation project, Nadaun and Phinna Sing project in Kangra district while Rs 350 crore have been provided under flow irrigation schemes and solar irrigation schemes.

A provision of Rs 250 crore has been made under scheme ‘Jal se Krishi ko Bal’ that provids for construction of check dams and ponds. It will help in providing irrigation facilities in clusters of un-irrigated lands.

As water has to be lifted for irrigation purpose in most parts of the state, the government has decided to grant 50 per cent subsidy for the construction of lift irrigation schemes and installation of borewells by individual or group of farmers for irrigation purposes.

Under this scheme, financial assistance is available as per the demand of farmers for the construction of low and medium lift irrigation systems, shallow wells, shallow borewells, water storage tanks of different capacities, pumping machinery and water conveyance pipes to individual farmers or a group of farmers. An area-based approach for development and conservation of natural resources along with farming systems to explore potential utilisation of natural resources base/assets available/created through watershed development and soil conservation activities /interventions would be adopted under the rainfed area development.

“This component will introduce appropriate farming systems by integrating multiple components of agriculture such as crops, horticulture, livestock, fishery, forestry with agro-based income-generating activities and value addition,” an expert said.

Besides, soil test/soil health card-based nutrient management practices, farmland development, resource conservation and crop selection, conducive to local agro climatic condition will also be promoted under this component. A cluster-based approach of 100 hectare or more (contiguous or non-contiguous) in difficult terrain with close proximity in a village or adjoining villages will be adopted to derive noticeable impact of convergence and encourage local participation and for future replication of the model in larger areas.

Multi-pronged strategy

The multi-pronged strategy adopted by the government focuses on command area development, micro and medium irrigation schemes, rainfed area development, lift irrigation and borewell scheme, flow irrigation scheme and solar irrigation schemes.Despite a large number of schemes constructed by the Irrigation and Public Health Department, water had not reached farms due to non-development of command area and an area of 1.33 lakh hectare was yet to be covered under the command area development for which Rs 500 crore was required, sources in the department said.