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The Department of Land Resources (DoLR) that falls under the Ministry of Rural Development, is implementing the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (WDC-PMKSY), to restore degraded rainfed areas. Key interventions here include soil conservation, rainwater harvesting, and pasture development.
A press from the Centre said that evaluation of WDC-PMKSY 1.0 showed improved groundwater levels, increased surface water availability, and higher crop productivity. Under WDC-PMKSY 2.0, the Centre has approved 1,150 projects covering 50 lakh hectares in FY-22, at ₹12,303 crore. Further, the Centre sanctioned 56 new watershed projects worth ₹700 crore across 10 states, including Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Assam.
The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was been allocated a total budget of ₹93,068 crore between FY-22 to FY-26. The funding, announced in 2021, includes ₹37,454 crore in central government support and ₹20,434 crore facilitated through NABARD-led debt servicing, with the remaining expenditure estimated to be covered by state governments.
In October 2023, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs sanctioned the inclusion of Uttarakhand’s Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project under the PMKSY’s Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP).
Built at an estimated cost of ₹2,584 crore, the project involves constructing a dam near Jamrani on the Gola River, a tributary of the Ganga, situated in Nainital district, Uttarakhand. Once operational, the dam will channel water to the Gola barrage via a 40.5-kilometre canal, supplementing an existing 244-kilometre canal network that has been in place since 1981.
Originally launched in FY-16, PMKSY aims to enhance irrigation access, expand cultivable land with assured water supply, and improve on-farm water-use efficiency, thereby promoting sustainable water conservation techniques.
Currently, PMKSY functions as an umbrella initiative led by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, incorporating two primary components: the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) and Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP). HKKP itself comprises four sub-programs: Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM), Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI), Repair, Renovation, and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies, and Ground Water (GW) Development.
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(Edited by : Anand Singha)