Irrigation dept to be blamed for drought

Prafulla Marpakwar | TNN Mumbai: A month ago,NCP president and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar came down heavily on governor K Sankaranarayanan for not touring the drought-affected villages of western Maharashtra.He later targeted the governor once again,saying that key irrigation projects were delayed indefinitely,thanks to non-allocation of funds.Political experts,though,have observed that western Maharashtrathe NCPs strongholdwas facing its worst-ever drought as a result of the irrigation departments lack of planning. A senior Congress minister said it would be wrong to blame the governor for nonallocation of funds,since he is bound by Article 371 (2) of the Constitution. It may be recalled that on July 26,1984,the then chief minister Vasantdada Patil had moved a resolution in the legislative assembly for setting up a development board for Vidarbha,Marathawada and the rest of Maharashtra under Article 371 (2).Pawar,who was then leader of the Opposition,supported the move saying it was time the government took quick measures for granting special financial assistance for the region.However,now it appears that Pawar has changed his view.At a public meeting in Satara last week,he said that western Maharashtra is at the receiving end owing to implementation of the Artcle 371 (2). Under the Constitution,it is the governors responsibility to ensure equitable allocation of funds.Despite such a situation,utilization of funds is left to the government, he said. The governor asked the state government to ensure effective fund utilization,timely completion of projects and that allocation for irrigation should be budgeted workwise and be made part of budgetary documents.We found that while utilizing the funds allotted for the rest of Maharashtra,the decisionmakers completely ignored the governors directives.As a result,while several projects were approved,not a single is complete, the minister said. The cabinet member said,the total cost of Nira Deodhar,a major irrigation project in Pune district,is Rs 1,400 crore.So far,Rs 585.17 crore has been spent on it while allocation for 2012-13 is Rs 4.5 crore.Status of all the irrigation projects is more or less similar.The total cost of the 747 ongoing projects has been estimated at Rs 75,367 crore.If we allocate between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore,we will never be able to complete the projects.As a result,we will continue to face a drought, he said. Significantly,irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare on Monday admitted that he was prepared to rethink the allocation process for the projects.In my opinion,we will require Rs 4,128 crore for completing 199 projects,where we have completed 75% work. Tatkare said as per guidelines prescribed by the planning commission,if an annuity plan is drafted,then all the projects that are nearing completion could be ready in two years.We are in the process of submitting our proposal to the governor. On the annuity proposal,Tatkare said here,it is the contractors responsibility to secure a loan.Its a novel concept.The contractor enters into a tripartite agreement with the state and the bank,secures a loan and completes the projects within the stipulated period.The government will refund the amount with interest seven years after completion of the project. WATERMARK Status of irrigation projects in Maharashtra: 75% of the work complete Projects | 199 Cost | 4,128 crore 50 to 75% work complete Projects | 195 Cost | 10,053 crore 25 to 50% work complete Projects | 150 Cost | 18,272 crore Less than 25% complete Projects | 203 Cost | 42,914 crore Total ongoing projects | 747 Cost | 75,367 crore