Officials attached to various government departments have been urged to prepare the ‘district irrigation plan’ to calibrate the existing irrigation system further for ensuring maximum yield and taking the available water to farms in the tail-end areas.
In a sensitisation programme on ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana’ (PMSKY) organised at Rice Research Station, Ambasamudram recently, Sub-Collector, Cheranmahadevi, V. Vishnu, Coordinator of District Irrigation Plan project, told the officials to prepare the plan as mandated by the newly announced scheme as the main objective of this programme is ‘More crop per drop’ and ‘Water to the last field’.
In his introductory speech about the scheme to the participants, he explained the salient the features of the programme as the newly evolved strategy connects all existing irrigation schemes of the various departments.
Mr. Vishnu, one of the officials to undergo the training in the programme, said the officials should collect every data pertaining to irrigation system right from the village-level.
“While preparing the Plan, village-level details will be collected and consolidated into block-level plan, which will ultimately evolve as the ‘District Irrigation Plan’ that can be used to finetune the existing irrigation system for getting maximum yield and take the available water even up to the tail-end area,” Mr. Vishnu said.
For collecting the basic details, factors such as source of water, distribution of water, optimum use of water and increase in farm productivity, the water budgeting and water balance will be taken in to consideration, the Sub-Collector said, urging the officials to collect the basic details as early as possible.
He said that the important suggestions given by the various department officials and the local MPs and MLAs, panchayat presidents should be included in the plan.
Joint Director of Agriculture (in-charge), L. Perumal, in his welcome address, emphasised the importance of the scheme and told the officials to expedite the data collection process.
The Deputy Director of Agriculture, District Watershed Development Agency R. Rajasekaran, Deputy Director of Agriculture (Farmers Training Centre) Mary Amirthabai, Personal Assistant to Collector (Agriculture) T. Venkatakrishnan and officials from Departments of Horticulture, Agricultural Engineering, Public Works and Statistical Analysis, Assistant Directors of Agriculture, Agricultural Officers and Deputy Agricultural Officers from all the 19 blocks of the district were also present in the meeting.
