Rs 1500 crore released to states for 99 AIBP projects

MUMBAI: Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti announced the release of first installment of Rs. 1500 crore to the states as central assistance for 99 prioritized irrigation projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP).
This amount has been released for 50 projects in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Telangana
Bharti said the total funds required for completion of all the 99 identified projects have been estimated at Rs.77595 crore (Rs.48546 crore for project works and Rs.29049 crore for CAD works) with estimated CA of Rs.31342 crore.
The likely potential utilization through these projects is estimated to be 76.03 lakh hectare (Lakh ha). Bharti said accordingly a proposal was made for providing Central Assistance and State share for above mentioned 99 projects through NABARD.
She said these projects will cover all most all drought prone districts of 18 States of country and will also go a long way to contain the incident of suicide by farmers. She expressed the hope that with regular monitoring the speedy implementation, the Government would be able to complete all the 99 projects well ahead of the schedule.