Chhattisgarh will achieve irrigation potential target in 91 years, says CAG report

It would take nearly 91 years for the Chhattisgarh water resources department to achieve the ambitious target of irrigating 75 per cent of the gross sown area (GSA) given the pace with which it had been implementing the plan, pointed the report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

Though the water resources department embarked in 2001 on an ambitious target of irrigating 75 per cent of the GSA, the created irrigation potential of the state was increased from 1.32 million hectare (23 per cent of the GSA) as on November 2001 to 1.9 million hectare (33 per cent of the GSA) as on March 2014, the report said. It was tabled in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly late Saturday night after the discussion on the no-confidence motion that concluded at 2 am Sunday.

"At the average rate of creation of 27,000 hectare irrigation potential per year, the targets may be achieved only after 91 years," the report on general, social and economic (non-PSUs) sector for the year ended March 31, 2014, said. Under the state water resources development policy 2001, the department planned to create 3.04 million hectare of new irrigation potential with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore without fixing any time frame. Out of this, as of March 2014, the department created only 576000 hectare of irrigation potential incurring an expenditure of Rs 11,152.40 crore, the report said.

The CAG report quoting the department secretary's exit conference said that the short fall in creation of irrigation potential was due to delay in getting forest clearance and acquisition of land required for the projects. "We recommend that the government may give priority for preparation of master plan for ensuring better management of water resources and achieving the estimates targets," the report added.