Corruption, administrative apathy and lack of political will has led to consistent hikes in per hectare irrigation costs, reaching Rs4.18 lakh from just Rs93,625 in June 2008.
In the last five years, the state government has allocated nearly Rs7,000 crore annually, but achieved irrigation capacity of only 140 hectares in this period.
With 749 irrigation projects currently in progress, the expected investment required for their completion now runs into Rs75,366 crore. The estimated expenditure on 1,246 pending projects in 2008 was Rs36,660 crore. Clearly, the costs have risen by more than double the previous amount even after the completion of 497 projects. These figures have been stated in a report prepared by Spark Maharashtra, an NGO working in the socio-political field.
The report also states that even though the per hectare cost to complete these projects runs into Rs4.18 lakh per hectare, the allocation made by the state government is Rs2 lakh per hectare. With the huge gap between demand and supply, these projects will take years to complete, said Priya Khan, director, Spark.
Experts attribute the tremendous rise in costs to corruption, inflation and lack of planning. “Though it’s not possible to quote the exact figure, the ‘percentage practice’ in allotment of the irrigation projects is well known. Also, variations made after allotment of the bid raises the project cost. And sometimes, required changes lead to a rise in the cost,” said Pradeep Purandare, an expert in the field.
Purandare also stated that the state government should undertake measures to ensure that irrigation levels are increased by means other than construction of dams. “Training of the farmers, their capacity building and empowerment may help the government in this respect,” he added.
