September 18, 2018
Action plan for uplifting farmers through irrigation schemes and water harvesting
The Water Resources Investigation and Development (WRI&D) Department has been able to mark its footprints in the surge of development in the spheres of minor and micro irrigation, water conservation projects, rainwater harvesting, etc.
Here are the priority areas that the department has decided to focus its efforts on:
- Providing assured irrigation to small and marginal farmers through the operation, maintenance and management of minor irrigation (MI) installations
- Increasing area of irrigated land through implementing of additional MI schemes across the State, including continuing with solar power-based minor irrigation schemes in some districts
- Implementing micro-irrigation techniques, viz. sprinkler, drip, hydram, etc. for enhancing efficiency of water usage
- Through Jalatirtha scheme, bringing additional areas under the coverage of irrigation in the arid zone districts of Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur, in the Sundarbans regions of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas to address the issue of salinity, and in the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts
- Through Jal Dharo-Jal Bharo scheme, implementing large-scale harvesting of rainwater in all kinds of waterbodies, both natural and artificial (implementing techniques artificial recharge of rainwater), in convergence with schemes like MGNREGS, with special emphasis on drought-prone areas
- Better utilising surface water through implementing major medium and mini river lift irrigation (RLI) techniques, and surface flow minor irrigation schemes (SFMIS), including rejuvenating old SFMISs, constructing water harvesting tanks (WHT) and check dams, etc.
- Implementing Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) Programme to reduce the gap between irrigation potential created (IPC) and irrigation potential utilised (IPU)
- Improving governance in water management through formation of water user associations
- Implementing all other aspects of the West Bengal Ground Water Resources (Management, Control and Regulation) Act for the proper utilisation of groundwater
Thus, through better utilisation of ground water and rainwater, implementing techniques for increasing irrigation, and improving the management of this natural resource, in general, the WRI&D Department is aiming to fulfil the aspirations of farmers across the State.
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