In a bid to promote crop cultivation during dry spells and improve the declining ground water levels, state government has announced to introduce a new farm pond scheme – ‘Panta Sanjeevani’, to help the farming community in case of failure between seasons.
Elucidating on the scheme, on sidelines of his visit to Kalyani Dam, near Tirupati on Friday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that the scheme would be introduced with an outlay of Rs.100 crore across the state, with an emphasis on Rayalaseema region. “Under this scheme, we will be offering three designs to the farmers for building a structure/facility in their respective farmlands. This would not only help in improving ground water levels via water harvesting, but also address the shortage, if any, by filling the structure by water from nearest borewells,” he remarked.
Terming the recent rains as a ‘morale booster’ for the State government as well as the people residing in Rayalaseema, Mr. Naidu opined that the precipitation has offered respite to the region which has been reeling under severe drought conditions for decades.
“Rayalaseema is synonymous for drought and the situation of farmers has deteriorated over time, as many of them have fallen under debts for protecting their crops. But, the inflows received during the recent rains has kindled the hope among farmers and many of the lakes and water projects have reached their maximum capacities,” maintained a visibly delighted Mr. Naidu, who also recollected his past visits to Kalyani Dam.
Mr. Naidu also said that the hard work of people, district administration and irrigation officials in implementing the Neeru-Chettu scheme has paid dividends, as the revamped lakes and ponds could retain the rain water. “Our Maha Sankalpam during Godavari Pushkarams has also been answered and these developments are a sign of hope for the emerging state of Andhra Pradesh,” he added.
The farm pond scheme will tackle the receding groundwater levels via water harvesting, besides offering water to farming community from nearby borewells
