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| Govt clears Rs 6,000 cr scheme for water bodies | |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi December 26, 2008, 17:26 IST | |
A Rs 6,000 crore scheme under the Eleventh Plan, aimed at repair, renovation and restoration of about 23,000 water bodies across the country, which would create irrigation potential of 7.5 lakh hectares, was approved by the government.
"The Cabinet approved the scheme of repair, renovation and restoration of wide variety of water bodies all over the country with an approximate cost of Rs 6,000 crore during the 11th plan period," Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters.
The scheme will cover about 23,000 water bodies across the country with a culturable command area of 16.8 lakh hectares. When completed, the project will create an additional irrigation potential of 7.5 lakh hectares.
Under the scheme, the state governments will prepare projects with a sub-basin approach with regard to public water bodies on government land, gram panchayats, municipalities, corporations, registered societies in agriculture and allied sectors as well as public trusts.
The objective of the scheme is comprehensive improvement of selected tank systems, including restoration, improvement of catchment area of tank commands, increasing storage capacity of water bodies, improving productivity, recharging ground water, developing tourism and increasing availability of drinking water.
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