Maharashtra (Part 2)

Maharashtra has negative agricultural growth. Large projects are inadequate, incomplete or tainted with corruption. With maximum irrigation potential of just 38% (or 8.5 mha), focus has to be small-scale.

1. Jalyukta Shivar Yojna : State govt creates any of 12 types of smaller water works for trapping water. It spent Rs 2000 crore on 170K works in 6200 villages and intends to cover all 40,000 villages in the next 3 years (see link 1).

2. All municipals are mandated to install STP, recycle and sell wastewater for reuse to the Industrial sector. Desilting of works and maintenance of irrigation projects will be funded by water taxes and commercial exploitation of material collected (see link 2).

3. Drip irrigation has become mandatory for sugar cultivation (see link 3). Sectorial allocations and priorities will determine the quantity of water released from each dam, eg. Jayakwadi dam loses 35 TMC pa due to misappropriation by upstream dams (see link 4). To further improve water availability in water-starved regions, govt should curtail certain crops and promote others (see link 8).

4. "Special projects" for drought-hit districts: Centre funds Rs 7200 crore for 132 projects in Vidarbha and Marathwada, and Rs 2000 crore for 73 other areas (see link 5). Taken up in mission mode.

5. Gosikhurd irrigation project: National project within 3 years. Centre funds 90% of Rs 9400 crore, for 300 km intra-state river link, lift irrigation and canals to Gosikhurd dam. Rs 6605 crore allocated this year. Rest to follow. It irrigates 0.25 mha.

6. Major projects: Under PMKSY, Centre gives 60% grant. 25 incomplete projects worth Rs 28,600 crore, to be completed in 3 years. They irrigate 1.75 mha (all net of Gosikhurd).

7. Tapi Mega Recharge Project costs Rs 5500 crore. It is an interstate project, has provisionally been approved and is expected to irrigate 0.23 mha inside Maha.

8. Projects postponed, worth Rs 27,000 crore.

9. Lower Painganga irrigation project has recently won environment clearance. Centre will fund it as a National project. It irrigates 0.2 mha inside Maha, on the Telangana border.

10. Daman Ganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada rivers are ILR projects with Gujarat. Centre funds 75%.

For projects 1 to 7, Centre and State plan to spend Rs 35,000 crore and Rs 24,000 crore, over the next 3 years (see link 6). Future water demands can only be met through a massive expansion of water storage, see link 7.

Government plans to finish pending irrigation projects