Irrigation projects worth Rs 80,000 crore to start in next 3 months; 30 river linking projects on anvil: Gadkari

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Union minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari, today pressed for development of agriculture through promotion of irrigation measures and biofuel usage in villages.

The minister called for improving rural India especially by promoting irrigation even as he said projects worth Rs 80,000 crore will start in next three months.

Speaking at the 112th annual convention of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gadkari said that India needs to push forward agriculture in light of depleting contribution of the sector in gross domestic product (GDP) when it provides maximum employment.

“We need to create smart villages… which are possible only when we push forward agricultural growth,” said Gadkari, adding that India faces peculiar problem of water shortage in the southern region while northern India faces floods.

Agriculture is expected to contribute 17.3 percent to gross value added during 2016-17 at 2011-12 prices, as per a report released by India Brand Equity Foundation.

The minister said that as many as 99 irrigated projects will be completed by December 2018 which would bring five crore acre land under its ambit.

“For the first time in India, under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana… Ninety irrigation projects are ready, 285 more projects are being looked at, which see will investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore by the central government,” he said. He added that NABARD and state governments will make investments too.

“After these projects are in shape, our country will see five crore acre lands under water (availability)”.

He said that water would be carried through pipes, while drip irrigation will be promoted, “increasing production by 2.5 times”.

The minister further said that to solve the issue of imbalance in water availability, his ministry was contemplating various river connect plans worth Rs 8 lakh crore.

“We will start river connectivity to take water from surplus to deficit areas,” he said adding, “Water from Ganga and Brahmaputra will be taken from Bengal to Odisha, traveling to Jharkhand,  Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh further ahead to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu”.

He said that 30 such projects are in the pipeline, out of which three projects – Ken-Betwa, Daman Ganga with Pinjal and Par, Tapi- with Narmada-- worth Rs 80,000 crore will be started in next three months.

Gadkari also said that 97 projects to clean Ganga are in the offing, of which 90 projects have already been awarded.

“Ganga has 97 projects related to major cities… Ninety of 97 have been awarded… There are other 55 projects related to smaller cities, which are not operational as of now but would be commenced soon,” the river development minister said.

“All these 150 projects will soon be financed and started to clean Ganga”.

He said that detailed project report (DPR) for Ganga rejuvenation and beautification is in place.

The minister urged private players to come forwards and invest in plans pertaining to Ganga, assuring that they would be given “autonomy” along with faster deal finalisation and signing of Memorandum of Understanding.

Drawing a parallel between river cleaning and biofuel, the union minister said that waste water can be used to produce methanol and bio-CNG (compressed natural gas) to be used as alternative fuel for vehicles in India.

“Conversion of waste water into wealth is a big industry,” he said.

He said that if farmers use such bio-CNG from crop waste, and other alternative fuels for running tractors, they can save up to Rs 25,000 every year.

Talking about other projects, Gadkari said that his ministry was looking at 40 river ports, three multi-modal projects as well as airplanes/buses that could land/run on water.

“A Russian firm came to me, presenting a 50-seater plane that can land on water,” he said. “There is lot of potential as almost every city has a water body”.

“I am also experimenting with a bus that runs on land and water both to ensure less pollution,” he said urging people to look at alternatives and “change the face of India”.