Irrigation

The Centre has introduced new flexibility under the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme to encourage micro-level water storage and conservation projects. The Union Agriculture Ministry has revised the guidelines for the scheme, expanding the "other inventions" section. Now, states and Union territories can plan micro-level water management activities, such as diggi construction and water harvesting systems-based on local needs, the ministry said in a statement. These systems can be developed for individual farmers as well as community use, ensuring sustainable water availability for micro-irrigation. Earlier, funds for such activities were limited to 20 per cent of the total allocation for each state/UT and 40 per cent for northeastern states, Himalayan states, and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. "Now, states/UTs have been given greater flexibility to exceed these limits as per their specific requirements," the ministry said. These initiatives aim to help farmers adopt ...

The Union environment ministry has deferred Madhya Pradesh's proposal seeking diversion of over 740 hectares of reserve forest land in Sheopur district for the construction of a dam and micro irrigation system, citing the need for further study and a no-objection from Project Cheetah. The proposed project area falls within the landscape of the Kuno National Park, where cheetahs were translocated from Africa starting September 2022. The ministry's Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) said the state must obtain comments or a no-objection certificate from Project Cheetah under the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) before any clearance is granted. The FAC, which met on September 26, examined Madhya Pradesh's request for non-forestry use of 740.159 hectares of reserve forest for the irrigation project on the seasonal Aheli river near Munjari village in Baroda tehsil. The river flows only during monsoon and remains dry for most of the year. Officials told the committee that the ..

Water level in the Ujani Dam in Maharashtra's Solpur district has reached 97 per cent of its capacity, prompting the irrigation department to release water from the reservoir, officials said on Tuesday. The dam is almost filled to its capacity owing to good rainfall in the catchment areas of the Bhima river. Water was being released from the dam at the rate of 70,000 cubic foot per second (cusec), an irrigation department official said. The total capacity of the Ujani Dam is 117 TMC and it generally gets filled up to its maximum capacity by August 15 in case of normal rainfall. The reservoir mainly provides water to Solapur and partly to Pune and Satara districts. "So far, the dam is filled up to 97 per cent, thanks to the good rainfall upstream in the Bhima river catchment area in Pune. Currently, water is being released from the dam at 70,000 cusec," Ujani dam project executive engineer Raosaheb More said.

Farmers can potentially save up to 30 per cent of water through a smart irrigation plan, IIT Bombay claimed while citing a joint research with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. Researchers fed weather forecast and soil moisture data into a computer model that checks the possible amount of rain, the soil water capacity, and the water requirements of each crop, IIT Bombay stated. This computer model can predict the amount of irrigation water needed up to three weeks on a district and sub-district scale, which will help farmers determine the amount of water they can expect through rainfall in the coming weeks and plan their irrigation accordingly. This will aid in crop growth and conserve groundwater, it said. During a pilot study in Nashik, researchers found that some grape growers used local soil moisture sensors. They irrigated their grape farms if the sensor detected soil dryness; however, it is also observed that if these irrigated farms received rainfall,

The association's president, Atul Ganatra said that around 67 per cent of India's cotton is produced in rain-fed areas

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Saturday said it has sanctioned Rs 770 crore financial assistance for the construction of two irrigation projects in Jharkhand. These projects were approved under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for the fiscal year 2024-25. "NABARD has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 769.58 crore for construction of two irrigation projects in Palamu and Giridih districts under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund during FY 2024-25," S K Jahagirdar, Chief General Manager, NABARD Jharkhand Regional Office, said. Once completed, the project in Palamu will provide irrigation to an additional 11,000 hectares of land through pipelines across eight blocks in the district. The megalift irrigation project in Giridih will cover 165 of the 197 villages in Pirtand block, leading to the development of 10,158 hectares of cultivable command area. Both projects are expected to significantly enhance agricultural activities

The government spent Rs 34,579 crore on various schemes from December until now, said Telangana finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday directed the officers of the Water Resources department for timely completion of the ongoing irrigation projects. Holding a meeting with the top officers of the department, the chief minister also directed them to manage water efficiently during the delayed monsoon period. He advised the officials to be in a state of preparedness for managing possible flood situation during the ensuing monsoon, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement. Stressing that the improvement of the status of the farmers of the state is a top priority of his government, Majhi said that the Water Resources department has a key role to play in making water available to farmers, it said. He further exhorted all the officers of the department to work with utmost sincerity, transparency and dedication to ensure greater benefit for farmers. Development Commissioner Anu Garg, who is also the additional chief secretary (ACS) of the Water Resources ...

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday visited the Polavaram Project to review works and the project status. This is the first time the chief minister is visiting the site after assuming the office for the fourth term. Naidu landed at the Polavaram Project at 12 pm and was accompanied by Water Resources Minister N Ramanaidu and others. The chief minister inspected the project works and officials explained to him in detail. Following his inspection, the CM is expected to hold an hour-long meeting on the project's progress. Polavaram Project is on the river Godavari near Ramayyapeta village in Polavaram Mandalam of Eluru district, located about 34 km upstream of Kovvuru-Rajahmundry road-cum-rail bridge. It emerges from the last ranges of the Eastern Ghats and enters the plains in the Godavari region. According to the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), the multi-purpose irrigation project is intended to irrigate over 4.3 lakh hectares of land and generate 960 MW

The Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved irrigation projects worth Rs 10,373 crore which would benefit the districts of Mandsaur, Rajgarh, Sidhi, Seoni and Balaghat, an official said. The projects which received approval included Takhaji Micro Lift Irrigation Project (Rs 60.3 crore) in Mandsaur district, Mohanpura Major Irrigation Project (Rs 4,666.66 crore) in Rajgarh, Sitapur Hanuman Micro Irrigation Project (Rs 4,167.93 crore) in Sidhi, and Sanjay Sarovar canal extension (Rs 332.54 crore) work in Seoni and Balaghat districts. A proposal to start air services from various cities in the state on a Public, Private, Partnership (PPP) mode was also approved at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, the official said. To curb emission of greenhouse gases, the government decided to introduce 'Pradhanmantri e-Bus service' in Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain and Sagar cities. As many as 552 e-buses will be operated on PPP model in these cities, the ...

Currently, the most overexploited aquifers are in the northwest and south of India, but the study indicates that by 2050 that area may extend to the southwest, the southern peninsula and central India

As the overflowing Yamuna disrupted daily life in parts of the national capital on Thursday, a regulator of the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department suffered damage near the Indraprastha bus stand and the WHO Building on Drain No 12, exacerbating the already dire situation. The compromised regulator allowed the Yamuna water to flow back towards the city, intensifying the challenges faced by residents. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal swiftly took action, directing immediate reinforcements to be dispatched to the site, according to a statement. Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj rushed to the scene to oversee the evolving situation. Assisted by a team of senior officers from the department, Bharadwaj has been coordinating the efforts to mobilise all available resources to gain control over the flow of water. Officials and a large number of workers are working to reinforce the area surrounding the damaged regulator to halt the ingress of floodwater into t

Twenty-two out of 36 states and union territories have less than 50 per cent irrigation coverage for their agricultural land

Jharkhand government will probe the alleged misuse of farmers' Aadhaar cards to avail benefits of the Centre's micro-irrigation scheme Per Drop More Crops' in parts of the state. The government swung into action after farmers from some blocks, alleged that their Aadhaar cards had been misused or they were misled into signing up for the scheme without their knowledge. Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh said a high-level probe committee has been set up to investigate the issue. "I have set up a four-member probe committee to look into alleged misuse of Aadhaar cards under the scheme," Patralekh told PTI on Friday. The four-member committee will be headed by Hazaribag sub-divisional officer as maximum cases of irregularities were reported from the district, he said. "If any anomaly is found, strict action will be taken," he said. Some farmers said micro-irrigation equipment had been dumped in their farms, though they hadn't applied for the scheme. Farmers alleged that so

Besides, the farmers will be given a 5 per cent interest subsidy on repaying long-term agriculture cooperative loans on time

Reusing treated wastewater in irrigation in India could have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 million tonnes in 2021, according to the latest study by a think tank. Greenhouse gases causing greenhouse effect are one of the main drivers of climate change. As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun's heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The study by 'Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)' looks at mainstreaming the reuse of treated wastewater in the country. It assesses the economic and market potential for the reuse of treated wastewater (domestic sewage) for irrigation at the national scale and makes recommendations to strengthen the existing governance on reuse. According to the analysis using the Central Water Commission (CWC) estimates, 11 out of 15 major river basins in India will experience water stress by 2025, with annual per capita renewable water availability below 1,700 cubic metres. "Hence, it is essential to expl

Agriculture commissioner Kanaram said that in the last four years, over 282,290 farmers have received subsidies of Rs 736.18 crore

It is now bearing fruit in just a year, and the results are encouraging with the government saying micro-irrigation has increased the yield of fruits and vegetables by 52 per cent

Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad on Wednesday said efforts are on to propagate solar energy-based irrigation facilities which can phase out existing energy-intensive farming practices. The southern State has already initiated a transformational and holistic shift to sustainable methods of cultivation, livelihood diversification, decentralised renewables and energy efficiency to help farmers survive the climate crisis, he said. The State is preparing an action plan to help decrease energy-intensive methodologies in land preparation, adding inputs, irrigation and harvesting, the Minister said after inaugurating a two-day consultation on 'Energy Transition in Agriculture Sector of Kerala,' organised jointly by Asar Social Impact Advisors and Energy Management Centre (EMC) under KSEB here. Prasad said that food processing and value-addition processes would also be brought under renewable energy. The State had accelerated its massive carbon neutral initiative that would help develop

Assessment units too large in size and too few in number to present micro-level picture, they say