Budget allocation to Water Resources Ministry hiked by 11%

The budgetary allocation for the Union Water Resources Ministry has been increased by 11 per cent to Rs 6887.00 crore from Rs 6201.21 crore for the on-going fiscal.

The rise translates to Rs 685.79 crore.

Of the total allocation, Rs 4204 crore is marked for central sector schemes/project.

The Finance Ministry has increased allocation for its ambitious Namami Gange programme from Rs 2150 crore for the on-going fiscal to Rs 2250 crore for next financial year, according to the Water Resources Ministry.

The corpus of Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF), instituted in NABARD as part of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), has been doubled from Rs 20,000 crore to 40,000 crore, a ministry statement said.

The government had made a budgetary provision of Rs 12,517 crore for the fund in the Union budget of 2016-17.