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Following is from a report in Pragativadi.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to give 188 US million dollar as loan for the improvement in the irrigation sector of Orissa. The funds would be spent under the Orissa Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management programme. Under this project, Budhabalanga, Baitarani, Subarnarekeha and Chitrotpala basin will be inter-linked.  Besides, six major irrigation projects, nine medium and 1,400 lift irrigation points would be set up that would facilitate irrigation in 2.24 lakh hectare of lands. A tripartite agreement was signed in New Delhi by the Centre, the ADB and the Orissa government. As per the agreement, ADB will provide 47 US million dollar in the first phase. The state government will repay the money at a five per cent interest in a period of 25 years.

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Hindu.

Declaring 2008 as the "Year of Irrigation", Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday unfolded a Rs 2,000 crore package for the farmers assuring water to every agricultural field in the state.

"Water to all agricultural field will be our top priority during 2008," Patnaik told reporters, adding that a minimum of Rs five lakh would be spent for providing water to a village where 35 per cent of the agricultural land remained non- irrigated.

Patnaik said the government had decided to set up at least 1,000 Minor Irrigation Projects (MIP) and lift irrigation points during 2008 to ensure that all the fields get water.

"At least Rs 2,000 crore will be spent on improving the irrigation facilities in the state," the chief minister said, adding that some of the irrigation projects would be funded by NABARD.

The government has decided to undertake lining works in certain canals where water leakage were reported earlier, senior officials of the water resources department said.

"The aim is to ensure that the farmer at the tail end of the canal system gets irrigation facilities," Patnaik said.

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Following is an excerpt on this from a report in Telegraph.

… Subernarekha is an inter-state river flowing through Jharkhand, Orissa and Bengal. Under this agreement, water will be shared by the three states in the ratio of 71 per cent, 27 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.

On the Jharkhand side, construction of the Chandili dam and Galudih barrage on the upstream of Subernarekha and 90 per cent earthwork has been completed, officials in the state water resources department said.

However, this inter-state irrigation project is still incomplete as the Jambhira barrage and canal system on Jharkhand-Orissa border is yet to be completed. A sum of Rs 140 crore was spent on the construction of the barrage and canal during 2006-07. An estimated Rs 253 crore will be spent this year, said state water resources secretary Aurobindo Behera. Of it, Orissa will provide Rs 105 crore to Jharkhand this fiscal to complete work on its side. The project from Jharkhand is expected to be complete by December 31, 2008, so that Orissa is able to get irrigation water, said Behera. So far, construction of a 46km canal on Orissa side has been completed and the project is expected to be commissioned by 2009-10.

An estimated Rs 3,500 crore will be required for completion of the project, out of which Rs 1,756 crore will be made available under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme of Central government. Orissa has so far spent Rs 466 crore on the project, said the EIC.

Following are excerpts from a New Indian Express report.

Implementation of the first phase projects of the integrated water resources development of Mahanadi basin are likely to start next year.

While the total project cost has been estimated at Rs 3,493 crore, the prioritised projects to be taken up in the first phase will cost around Rs 1,200 crore.

The State Government has submitted a proposal on the proposed project to the World Bank for funding.

A World Bank Identification Mission which visited the State from August 8 to 15 has advised the State Government to take up the proposed basin development plan in a phased manner.

The major components of the Mahanadi basin development plan include five new irrigation projects on Brutanga, Dhauragoth, Upper Lanth, Ong and Ib rivers, rehabilitation and improvement of 13 major and medium irrigation schemes, and six mega lift schemes at Mundali, Banpur, Padmabati, Baiideswar and Upper Indravati.

Improvement of drainage development in eight doabs under Mahanadi basin and flood control below Naraj are the other components.

The project also includes development of new minor irrigation schemes in the basin, basin planning and environmental action plan, formation of river basin organisation, institutional strengthening and capacity building of Pani Panchayats and support for allied activities such as agriculture and horticulture, Water Resources Secretary Aurobinda Behera said.

… The study should also cover the sustainability of the project, it said .

The Mahanadi basin has a catchment area of over 1.41 lakh sq km covering Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra besides Orissa. Over 23 lakh hectares of forest land falls under the catchment area.

Following is Dharitri’s report on this.

New Indian Express reports the Orissa minister’s statement on this regard in the assembly. Following are some excerpts:

Refuting Opposition charges that the State Government has paid no attention to flood control measures, Planning and Coordination Minister Padmanabha Behera said a master plan is being prepared in this regard for Tel river basin.

The State Government has also decided to construct a barrage at Barmul on river Mahanadi as a part of flood control measure. Only seven villages would be submerged because of the project, he said.

He reiterated the State Government’s commitment to irrigate 35 percent agriculture land in all the blocks in the State. … the minister said out of the 314 blocks, 194 blocks have less than 35 percent irrigated agriculture land.

More than 60 percent of these blocks are in KBK and backward areas, … and … steps have been initiated under different programmes to increase the land under irrigation in these blocks.

Stating that the project to link Bansadhara with Rushikulya river would not be economically viable, the Minister said the State Government was contemplating to implement Lower Bansadhara project which can irrigate 31,000 hectares.

… Leader of Opposition J B Patnaik said 40,000 hectare agriculture land can be brought under irrigation if a dam is constructed on the upper basin of Mahendra Tanaya river.

…, JB said 30 lakh acres could be brought under irrigation within the next five years by spending Rs 8,000 crore. He said pani panchayats should be scrapped.

PRESS RELEASE 29.05.2007 (CM ATTENDS NDC MEETING)

GOVERNMENT OF ORISSA

PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi

May 29, 2007

NAVEEN PATNAIK DEMANDS HIGHER ALLOCATION FOR ORISSA

TO CORRECT THE NEGLECT OF THE CENTRE

Speaking at the 53rd meeting of the National Development Council in their special session on Food and Agriculture, the Chief Minister, Shri Naveen Patnaik today demanded that the historical neglect for Eastern States like Orissa should be corrected during the 11th Plan.The advanced States of the country have had the benefit of huge public investment in irrigation and other related infrastructure in the past and the Eastern States have lost out in this race, he said. He pointed out that the various Working Groups on Agriculture have observed that the Eastern region has the maximum potential for agricultural growth during the 11th Five Year Plan and therefore region specific programmes based on the specific requirements of the different agro-climatic zones should be drawn up instead of uniform nation-wide schemes of one-size-fit-all variety.

Since irrigation is the key in agricultural growth, he suggested that Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) should have a large outlay and include not only major and medium irrigation projects but should also be extended to minor and lift irrigation projects.

For those lands which cannot be provided with assured irrigation, he suggested that a massive programme should be drawn up to cover rainfed areas on a Mission mode. He demanded that adequate funding support be provided by Government of India to the Watershed Mission of Orissa which has been set up by his Government to tackle the problems of rainfed agriculture.

He also suggested that seed production should be decentralized and seed villages encouraged so that adequate quantities of certified seeds are available to the farmers at affordable rates. He pointed out that nearly 70% of the cultivable land of Orissa is acidic in nature and transport subsidy should be provided by Government of India for gypsum and other inputs used for soil amendment.

Certain districts of Orissa such as Phulbani and Koraput have excellent potential for production of organic fruits, vegetables and spices. Since these districts are in the tribal sub-plan area, the resource-poor farmers cannot afford the high cost involved in certification of organic products. He suggested that the cost of such certification may be borne by the Government. He made a strong plea for a comprehensive crop insurance policy for cotton farmers of the State mainly in the Eastern and Southern parts of the State.

The CM also stated that farm mechanization and micro-irrigation systems are necessary in order to improve productivity of the land and timely agricultural operations. Specific schemes should be drawn up to promote a large number of cold storages in private sector with attractive incentives in the form of capital investment subsidy. Cold chain and post harvest management interventions should be put in place in order to support this sector, he added.