Chambal ravines to be turned arable: Tomar

New Delhi, July 26

The Centre, in collaboration with the World Bank, has decided to convert a large area of ravines in the Gwalior-Chambal belt of Madhya Pradesh into arable land, and a preliminary report for the same will be prepared in a month, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Sunday.

After preparation of the initial report, subsequent meetings would be held with the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for further course of action, he said.

A decision in this regard was taken during a virtual meeting with World Bank representative Adarsh Kumar, who said the bank was keen to work in Madhya Pradesh, an official statement said.

“More than 3 lakh hectares of rugged land is not cultivable and if this area is improved, it will help in the integrated development of the Bihad area in Gwalior-Chambal region,” the statement quoted Tomar.

He further said the project would not only help in improving agricultural development and environment, but will also create employment opportunities and lead to substantive development of the region.

Tomar said there was a lot of scope for the development of the Bihad area in the Gwalior-Chambal region. The Chambal Expressway would be built, which will pass through this area, and the overall development of the region would be possible.

“It was decided that the substantive project would be prepared in collaboration and support from the World Bank to accomplish this work…it has been decided to prepare a preliminary project report within a month,” the statement said.

Vivek Aggarwal, Joint Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry, said all aspects related to technology, infrastructure, capital cost and investment would be taken into consideration before initiating the work on the proposed project with minimum budget allocation.

Participating in the meeting, Agriculture Production Commissioner KK Singh said the old project had been revived and would be undertaken under the guidance of the Union Agriculture Minister.

SK Rao, Vice Chancellor, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Agricultural University, said the work could be done keeping in mind the overall agricultural development of the region, the statement added. PTI