Irrigation scheme to benefit 24K farmers in Kangra: MLA

At least 24,000 farmers in the Shahpur, Jawali and Dehra Assembly constituencies of Kangra district will get irrigation facilities under the Sukhahar Medium Irrigation Scheme, said Kewal Singh Pathania, Deputy Chief Whip of the Congress in the Vidhan Sabha, here today.

Pathania, after chairing a meeting of the Jal Shakti Department here, said that Rs 213-crore projects would provide irrigation to 2,186 hectares of farmland and benefit around 24,120 farmers. In the Shahpur constituency alone, the irrigation facility would be extended to 337 hectares in 10 villages of four panchayats in the Changar area, covering nearly 2,000 farmers.

He said that drinking water and irrigation projects worth about Rs 202 crore were under construction in Shahpur, including a Rs 56.31-crore project under the Jal Jeevan Mission, a Rs 28.76-crore project under NABARD, Rs 43.63-crore project with Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance, Rs 56.56-crore sewerage project and Rs 17-crore projects under other schemes.

Pathania directed the officials concerned to prepare area-wise data of all projects, ensure regular water quality monitoring and speed up the completion and inauguration of various schemes.