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| Paucity of funds leaves irrigation canals in peril | | No de-silting work taken up as tail end farmers suffer | |
Bashir Assad
Srinagar, June 30: Owing to the failure of the J&K The Planning Development Department to release funds under the annual plan for de-silting, the irrigation canals across the state are in peril and farmers are agitating the issue but to in vain.
While doing away with the established principal of allocating funds to the irrigation and flood control department under a separate head for desilting of major and minor irrigation canals, the Planning Development Department, according to reliable sources, has not released any money for the purpose. Instead the Irrigation and Flood Control Department has reportedly been told to undertake De-silting of the canals under maintenance head which under which the department is provided just 50 lakh rupees for maintenance of machinery equipments.
Sources said that the Planning department had insisted the Irrigation and Flood Control not to raise demand of plan allocation under desilting program. They said that desilting of major and minor irrigation canals has not been undertaken for two years by now due to non-availability of funds under the head. They said that the Irrigation and Flood Control Department carried out desilting work only at land sliding points and Rs. 40 lakh only were released for the purpose as compared to previous year's Rs. 50 lakh. Sources said until 2010 there would be a separate head for desilting of irrigation canals and around 2 to 3 crore rupees would be available to each division for the program.
"The funy thing is that contractors do not participate in tenders, if any, for desilting as there are no funds available under this head and liabilities have crossed Rs. 2.5 crore in Kashmir division alone" a senior officer in Irrigation and Flood Control Department told early times.
He said that the situation in Kashmir division is worst as not even a single penny was even allotted under additionality. He said the department is left in the lurch when it comes to desilting as majority of the irrigation schemes are in peril.
He said that only 5% of the network was desilited and nearly 95 per cent of the desilting work was not undertaken due to non-availability of funds.
He admitted that farmers were facing hardships due to government not de silting the canals. Pertinently scores of major and minor irrigation canals have turned totally dry due to slit.
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