The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the Chief Minister’s water conservation plan which is identical to the scheme initiated by the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government. The new scheme aims at restoring the irrigation capacity by fixing water sources. The plan will be implemented from April 2020 and will go on until March 23, an official said.
Authorities mentioned that the past four decades have seen the emergence of numerous water sources. However, they said that these haven’t been maintained and are hence not being used to their potential.
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An official quoted by The Indian Express said that there are approximately 7,900 water sources that are in need of repairs in order to restore its irrigation capacity as well as water storage. The official added that this new scheme will require funding of Rs 1,340.75 crores.
Authorities said that the initiative will cover works on village ponds, storage tanks, irrigation ponds, cement nullah bunds, and smaller irrigation structures. “The programme will be undertaken by the soil and water conservation department to restore irrigation capacity of the water sources. The canal repair works will also be taken up to stop the wastage of water,” the official went on to say.
Further, the Vigilance and Quality Control Team from the Soil and Conservation Department will reportedly inspect the progress of the project works at regular intervals. Additionally, a project implementation cell will be established at the state level.
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All of this comes as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government put a hold on the Jalayukt Shivar scheme which was initiated by ex-CM Fadnavis with the intention of making Maharashtra drought-free.
When the Uddhav Thackeray administration took over the administration of the state, a committee of four members was formed to look into the accusations of irregularities in the Jalayukt Shivar project. This came after a CAG report found some discrepancies while also citing a lack of transparency in the works carried out under the scheme between 2014 and 2019.
Reversal of NIT repeal
In another impactful call, the State Government has now announced the reversal of the previous administration’s decision to repeal the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT). “The decisions of repealing the NIT were taken in 2016 and 2019 by the then state cabinet. Now, there is no need to implement these decisions, which have been withdrawn now,” an official familiar with the matter said.
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