New Delhi, March 30 Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil stated in the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the Centre has not received any new proposals for irrigation projects from the Telangana government during the last three years under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
Responding to supplementary questions during Question Hour, the minister said that as many as 99 ongoing major/medium irrigation projects were included under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) during 2016-17.
Of these 99, he said that work on 71 projects had been stalled for a long time.
The PMKSY aims to improve access to water on farms and expand cultivable areas under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc.
Patil said that 11 projects were included from Telangana under PMKSY.
He said that the Centre has not received any application for new projects in the last three years from the state government.
In a written reply, Patil said, "...11 projects of Telangana were included under PMKSY-AIBP with eligible central assistance of Rs 1,129.80 crore. A total central assistance of Rs 981.49 crore has been provided for these projects."
"No eligible proposal for central assistance has been received from the Government of Telangana during the last three years," he added.
The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) is a component under the PMKSY.
Irrigation potential of more than 4.24 lakh hectare has been created under 11 PMKSY-AIBP projects in Telangana against their ultimate irrigation potential of 5.85 lakh hectare.
Further, micro irrigation has been developed in 3.85 lakh hectare area of Telangana under the PDMC scheme since 2015-16.
"As informed by the Government of Telangana, within the command area of completed large irrigation projects of the State, agricultural productivity increased by about 2.3 times," Patil said.
The minister said that the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme, being implemented by the Department of Agriculture, was implemented under the umbrella of PMKSY till March, 2022. This is now being implemented under Pradhan Mantri - Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojna (PM-RKVY).
The PDMC scheme focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at the farm level through micro-irrigation techniques, namely drip and sprinkler systems.
"A total central assistance of Rs 873.95 crore has been provided to Telangana under PDMC, out of which, Rs 194.63 crore was provided during the last three years," he said.