Putting emphasis on the irrigation, Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that 285 new irrigation projects will be taken up by next year to provide irrigation for 1 crore 88 lakh hectare of land. The Minister said water, power, transport and communication are the four most important pillars of development, adding that the government is keen to provide safe drinking water to every household and irrigation water for every farm.
Gadkari further said that drip irrigation and irrigation through pipeline would be the priority areas of the Government as this would save huge amount of water and also cut down the cost involved in acquiring land. He also said that he was exploring the possibility of NTPC power plants using treated waste water and that he had spoken to the Power Minister in this regard.
Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the government has also proposed a Rs 6,000 crore national ground water management improvement scheme, with the support of the World Bank. According to him there are 112 districts in the country where irrigation cover is less than 20 per cent and time-bound action plans are needed to meet the challenges of water scarcity and flood management.