Water Resources Ministry to get Rs 12,517 crore, says Uma Bharti

New Delhi: Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday claimed her ministry has received Rs 12,517 crore through budget allocation and market borrowings for 2016-17, a rise of Rs 5,086 crore over revised estimate of Rs 7,431 crore for 2015-16.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Bharti said her ministry will focus on fast-tracking irrigation and river-linking projects and affirmed the government will be able to complete work on the first leg of the Namami Gange programme by October 2016.

The minister said the government plans to begin work on the Ken-Betwa river linking project, the first such programme envisaged to connect two rivers, this year itself. She said a task force has been formed to ascertain if a river traced in Haryana and Rajasthan recently is indeed the mythical Saraswati, which is believed to have disappeared ages ago.

"Overall allocation of resources for the Ministry of Water Resources has increased from Rs 7,431 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 12,517 crore in the Union Budget for 2016-17 through budgetary support and market borrowings. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has given us freedom to borrow from open market," Bharti said.

The minister said in a "revolutionary" move, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has increased funds for irrigation works from Rs 60 crore to whopping Rs 6,000 crore for the next financial year.

She said with the help of budgetary provision and open market borrowings, the government will prioritise completion of 89 projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Scheme (AIBP).

The government plans to create facilities to bring an additional eight million hectares of land under irrigation by 2020, she added.

Bharti said the size of irrigated land will swell by another 35 million hectares if the government manages to complete works on all river-linking projects on time.

"If we manage to complete irrigation and river-linking projects on time, then the agriculture sector's contribution in GDP will increase up to 40 per cent from current 18-20 per cent in 10 years," she claimed.

The government had last week formed a Centre-state committee to work out timeline and mechanism for fast-tracking 46 irrigation projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKYS). The panel comprising state ministers and officials will submit its report later this week, Bharti said.