The Telangana government’s plans to bring an additional 5 lakh hectares of land under micro irrigation by 2019-20 are likely to remain a distant dream if the progress made in that direction during the last two years is any indication.
According to the officials of the micro irrigation project, only 39,640 hectares was brought under sprinkler and drip irrigation facility across the State during 2015-16 and 30,592 hectares the year before. In its economic outlook plans released along with the budget presentation in March 2015, the State government charted a course to create micro irrigation potential to 5 lakh hectares, 50 per cent of the potential area, between 2015-16 and 2019-20 by covering at least one lakh hectares every year. However, the baffling fact is that the government, in its budget estimates, proposed to cover only 37,300 hectares during 2016-17 with the plans to spend Rs. 253 crore. The focus areas include cultivation of vegetables, spices, fruits, oil palm, sugarcane, mulberry and a few other agriculture crops.
Micro irrigation officials stated that about 4.8 lakh hectares of land was covered under drip and sprinkler systems from 2003-04 to 2013-14 in Telangana with an expenditure of Rs. 2,075 crore. The total extent reached 5.5 lakh hectares by the end of 2015-16. The State government was able to spend only Rs. 73 crore in 2014-15 and Rs. 170 crore in 2015-16 against the budgetary allocations of Rs. 200 crore and Rs. 250 crore, respectively.
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The yawning gap between the government plans and the targets achieved is likely to widen further with an allocation of only about Rs. 250 crore for 2016-17, including assistance from the Centre, though it could help achieve the target of 37,300 hectares during the year. The fate of poly houses also remains the same with the extent covered during 2014-15 (116 acres) and 2015-16 (472 acres) paling before the plans of covering at least 1,000 acres each in two years.
When contacted, a senior government official told The Hindu : “We work as per the targets given to us in proportion to the budgetary allocation. Besides, lack of awareness among the farming community is keeping the number of farmers availing the scheme low.” He, however, felt that bringing a sizeable extent under micro irrigation would have paid dividends to farmers, at a time when drought conditions prevailed across the State since the last two years.