Guwahati: Only 14 per cent of the gross planted area in Assam has been irrigated by irrigation projects this year, state irrigation minister, Ashok Singhal said on Friday in the Assembly.
He claimed that more than 1,500 of the state’s approximately 4,000 irrigation projects are inoperable.
In response to a query from Independent legislator Akhil Gogoi, Singhal stated that the state’s net sown area is 27.24 lakh hectares, while the gross sown area is 38.88 lakh hectares.
Out of these, 11.03 lakh hectares have been added to the irrigation plans until 2023, albeit this year, only 5.50 lakh hectares of those were able to grow crops using the water given by these plans.
According to the minister, irrigation plans covered 14 per cent of the state’s total sown area this year. Crops grown during the Kharif (June to October) and Rabi (November to May) seasons are given water through these programmes.
The Irrigation Department is responsible for 3,913 schemes, of which 1,585 are now inactive.
According to Singhal, efforts are being made to revive the failed plans and initiatives.
–IANS
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