Drought-hit Maharashtra has decided to stop construction of canals to restrict indiscriminate use of water for cash crops like sugarcane and banana, and increase the State’s irrigation potential.
The State’s one-lakh kilometres of underground canal network will now be converted into a pipeline to aid irrigation, save water, and encourage farmers to adopt drip irrigation. The State Cabinet on Tuesday passed a policy on building a pipeline for future distribution.
The decision followed the directives from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a meeting in Delhi on May 7. Maharashtra has been facing a drought for the third consecutive year.
It has been contested that the canal network is always diverted to suit the interests of the rural rich. For example, in a dry Marathwada, the belt along the Godavari is well fed with the network, which is allegedly diverted by individual farmers, who are also members of the ruling party. “We will not only reduce thefts, but also losses. With a pipe network, we will be able to irrigate 1,300 hectares of land instead of 1,000 hectares irrigated with canals,” said Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan, adding that the pipeline will help the districts meet their target. Each district has a target of bringing 1,65,000 hectares under drip irrigation annually.
It is estimated that the pipeline will improve water efficiency and irrigation potential by 20 per cent, reduce distribution losses by 40 per cent, and bring down thefts, officials said.
The move will help the government achieve the target set by the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) to bring more areas of water-intensive crops under drip irrigation by April 1, 2019. According to the MWRRA, the State has 225 lakh hectares that could still be brought under irrigation, but with increasing urbanisation, the water meant for irrigation is being lost in distribution and thefts. “The farmers with small holdings have a problem in having a canal system pass through their land, but now not many of them will object to a pipeline,” said Mr. Mahajan.
