The state government is working out a financial model to mobilise Rs 13,514 crore through loans to fast-track the 26 irrigation projects under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (PMKSY). The cumulative cost of these projects is Rs 36,299 crore. As per the Centre-state ratio of 60:40 funding, the Centre will shell out Rs 21,858 crore.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked the Centre to make a generous allocation for these projects to enable Maharashtra to enhance its irrigation potential and avoid further cost escalation due to delays.
A senior official said, “At the meeting in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured generous help to the state government. However, details related to financial allocations presented by state government are being studied by the Union ministry of finance.”
The state is emphasising on higher allocation backed by the argument that Maharashtra with recurring drought has witnessed a mismatch in grants demanded and sanctioned from 1996 to 2016.
The statistics from 2005 to 2014 shows total funds demanded from the Centre under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Schemes (AIBS) was Rs 17,285 crore and allocation was Rs 10,216 crore. The total land irrigated through these projects under AIBP is 7.12 lakh hectares in the last three decades.
In 2014-15, it asked Rs 1,656 crore and received Rs 32 crore. In 2015-16, its demand for Rs 1,764 crore was met with Rs 308 crore.
However, the Centre has attributed the mismatch on account of discrepancies in formatting or other related aspects, which will have to be corrected.
Fadnavis’ decision to seek intervention of Modi to expedite irrigation projects and drought mitigation plans, sources said, has already given Maharashtra an advantage. As the chief minister, he has succeeded in convincing the Centre to consider cost escalation in all 26 projects due to higher land compensation paid by state government.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has allocated a budget of Rs 86,000 crore for the next five years for 89 projects under PMKSY across the country. It promises to bring 8 million hectares of land under irrigation. The amount for 2016-17 is Rs 17,000 crore.
The state has emphasised that Maharashtra’s 26 projects under PMKSY, out of the total 89 projects, accounts for almost 23 per cent, which is a significant index that would reflect the increase in the irrigation sector for both state and country.
This is one aspect, which Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti has noted positively during her meeting in Mumbai last week. According to a senior officer, “Under PMKSY, even if we get one third of the Rs 21,858 crore this year, it would be a big boost to our efforts to fast track the works. We can always raise our share partly from NABARD on soft loans or through other financial borrowings.”
