Bhubaneswar, June 2: The state government Saturday approved projects worth Rs 440 crore under Jalchhaya and other micro irrigation schemes.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the state-level sanctioning committee held at Secretariat here.
Chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, who heads the committee, asked agriculture and water resources departments’ officials for advising farmers to irrigate their crops judiciously.
The meeting also discussed about implementation of schemes like ‘Per drop more crop’ under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
Officials said that apart from spending Rs 440 crore in 2018-19 under Jalchhaya and other micro irrigation schemes, an additional Rs 250 crore has also been sanctioned under PMKSY for the current fiscal of which Centre will provide Rs 98.44 crore.
The state will also receive Rs 40 crore from the Centre towards its share in the Rs 89-crore ‘Per drop more crop’ scheme in this fiscal.
Altogether 2,345 irrigation projects would be taken up under these schemes to irrigate an additional 5,659 acres of land in the state, officials said.
Officials further added that Rs 12.65 crore has been sanctioned under Jalchhaya scheme which will aid in soil conservation, horticulture, research in the field of agriculture, skill development and other activities.