Even as the government gears up for the next Union budget, the agriculture ministry is yet to finalise the modalities on how to utilise the Rs 5,000 crore allocated in the previous budget for micro irrigation.
New Delhi: Even as the government gears up for the next Union budget, the agriculture ministry is yet to finalise the modalities on how to utilise the Rs 5,000 crore allocated in the previous budget for micro irrigation. The fund was to bring 1.6 million hectares under micro irrigation (drip and sprinkler) in co-ordination with Nabard to help states avail credit at a lower interest rate of 5%.
With half the cultivable land in the country still being rainfed, micro irrigation is crucial when monsoon rains are deficit or when rainfall is geographically uneven — a trend seen in the past few years.
Currently, of the 65.3 million hectares of arable area under irrigation, only 8.5-9 million hectares are under micro irrigation. "The micro irrigation fund was aimed to achieve overall improvement of efficiency of water use. We have prepared the draft and are now working on the modalities.
Once we finalise it, we will discuss it with state governments. It should be out soon," said an agriculture ministry official.
A meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee to consider the draft note on "PMKSY- Corpus for Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF)" was held on November 28. "Further direction is awaited from the government," said a Nabard official.
Industry sources said that post GST reforms, states have been slow on spending on micro irrigation, but were confident that the funds would be utilised in the coming quarter.
"Effective utilisation has not taken place in Maharashtra or Gujarat where elections took place last year.
Andhra Pradesh, however, has spent enough. Centre needs to do more to work with states and should call a meeting of state government officials in Delhi. Merely allocating funds does not help if individual states are not ready to pick it up," said the owner of a leading micro irrigation company.
With half the cultivable land in the country still being rainfed, micro irrigation is crucial when monsoon rains are deficit or when rainfall is geographically uneven — a trend seen in the past few years.
Currently, of the 65.3 million hectares of arable area under irrigation, only 8.5-9 million hectares are under micro irrigation. "The micro irrigation fund was aimed to achieve overall improvement of efficiency of water use. We have prepared the draft and are now working on the modalities.
Once we finalise it, we will discuss it with state governments. It should be out soon," said an agriculture ministry official.
A meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee to consider the draft note on "PMKSY- Corpus for Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF)" was held on November 28. "Further direction is awaited from the government," said a Nabard official.
Industry sources said that post GST reforms, states have been slow on spending on micro irrigation, but were confident that the funds would be utilised in the coming quarter.
"Effective utilisation has not taken place in Maharashtra or Gujarat where elections took place last year.
Andhra Pradesh, however, has spent enough. Centre needs to do more to work with states and should call a meeting of state government officials in Delhi. Merely allocating funds does not help if individual states are not ready to pick it up," said the owner of a leading micro irrigation company.