Water, water everywhere, but not a drop for farms

Much like many other government projects irrigation in parts of Gadchiroli remains a project on paper The multiple barrages and lift irrigation projects sanctioned for villages in the district have been stuck in administrative hassles for decadesThe stalled project has deprived agricultural farms in the region of water supply for close to four decades The R 617crore budget for barrages on the Wainganga river in Chichdoh and Kotgal villages would have provided water for over 40000 hectares of farmland While the farmers suffer political leaders blame each other for the mismanagementVillagers point to the spot where the irrigation work is moving at a snails pace on the Wainganga river PicsSuresh KarkeraThe political tugofwar between the Congress and the BJP has deprived the region of any development for years We only cultivate paddy during monsoon which is the main source of water supply for our farms and were looking forward to the irrigation projects These two barrages alone would have provided roundtheyear water to our farms a local farmer saidCongress leader and former MLA 20092014 Dr Namdeo Usendi said that most of the irrigation projects had to be halted owing to restrictions imposed by the Forest Conversation Act 1980 The state government during the Congress regime was kind enough to sanction Rs 617 crore for the Chichdoh and Kotgal barragesUsendi denied the existence of any water scarcity in the district adding that only water for farmland was a concern We must understand that the entire district is included in the drainage basin of Godavari river The Godavari confluences with many rivers at different locations Water from these could be put to use in farming by ensuring that the irrigation projects are completed said Dr UsendiMost of the barrages and lift irrigation projects were sanctioned during his tenure as MLA he claimed with the Kotgal barrage sanctioned in 2011 Three others at Palamgaon Mahagaon and Garra are still stuck Usendi blamed the ruling government for the delay in implementation Lack of will and interdepartmental coordination are the only reasons for such crucial projects to remain on paper he saidHighlighting the irony in the region Dr Abhay Bang founderdirector of the Society For Education Action and Research in Community Health SEARCH said that the Wainganga one of the largest rivers in Maharashtra flows along the West border of Gadchiroli and receives around 60inch rainfall every year Yet the farmers who constitute 80 per cent of the districts population are always deprived of water for their fields Lack of irrigation is a major hurdle in the economic growth of the district he said The Forest Conservation Act prohibits any large or medium size irrigation project lest the forest is submerged Secondly while the politics of Maharashtra often revolves around irrigation Gadchiroli is kept out of it for the lack of a strong political leader here The state government permits 200 TMC water in Wainganga to flow away without holding it in barrages The result is 95 per cent farmers subsisting on one crop per year he elaboratedThe sitting BJP Member of Parliament from Gadchiroli Ashok Nete said that the government had sanctioned five barrages and two of them were already constructed at Chichdoh These two barrages are awaiting inauguration he saidThe tender for another barrage at Kotgal has been floated too he said but the model code of conduct has halted the process briefly Three remaining barrages would also come up soon as we have all required permissions Nete said adding Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkaris idea of constructing bridgecumbarrages will help in storage of water as also for commuting I have begun work on the proposal to be handed over to Gadkariji soonCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates