The Siddhivinayak and Shirdi Sai temple trusts had pitched in with Rs1 crore each for 34 districts, with Rs68 crore being collectively raised through this route.
To fund its ambitious Jalyukta Shivar drought alleviation project, the Maharashtra government is tapping the corporate sector for help. This project, which aims at tackling recurring drought in rain-fed areas and ensuring water and moisture security, has covered around 6,000 villages where 30,000 works are underway.
An official from the chief minister's office (CMO) said that they had recently held a conclave with representatives of corporate groups to seek deployment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, technical inputs and know-how for the program. "These companies have already covered around 400 villages, of which some are part of the Jalyukta Shivar program and others are not," said the official, adding that these works were estimated at Rs200 crore.
The official added: "As these corporates have constraints in providing financial inputs, they can chip in with help for conducting physical work, deploying machinery for tasks like de-silting or even provide diesel for vehicles when villagers are undertaking work through volunteering."
The Siddhivinayak and Shirdi Sai temple trusts had pitched in with Rs1 crore each for 34 districts, with Rs68 crore being collectively raised through this route.
More corporate groups including a soft-drink and consumer goods company is also pitching in with inputs and works in villages. This CSR effort will also help fill gaps like funding not being available for some schemes, or a certain area not being entitled to a particular scheme.
Apart from constructing structures to store water, Jalyukta Shivar eventually aims at tackling issues like water use, rejuvenating old water storage and irrigation structures and aquifers and changing cropping patterns.
In 2012, the state's economic survey said that irrigation in Maharashtra had risen by just 0.1% to 17.9% from 2001 to 2010, despite Rs70,000 crore being spent on the sector. This had led then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to assure a white paper on the issue, which led to confrontation with the NCP and then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. The state has around 589 irrigation projects under construction with a balance cost of around Rs72,000 crore.
After allegations of corruption in irrigation projects and undue benefits being granted to contractors had surfaced, Pawar resigned in September 2012 only to be sworn in again two months later. Pawar was the irrigation minister from 1999 to 2010.
Inception of project
The Jalyukta Shivar campaign was launched on Republic Day; around 10,000 cement bunds are planned to be constructed in 2015-16 and one lakh wells will be tapped in drought-affected areas of Vidarbha and Marathwada. The state will upload digital photographs of the works along with the latitude and longitude of the projects to ensure transparency. This will also provide an idea of the situation before, during and after the work was executed.
Maha's irrigation coverage
Maharashtra's geographical area is 308 lakh hectare and its cultivable area is 225 lakh hectare. Of this, 40% of the area is drought prone and about 7% is flood prone. The state, which is the third largest in geographical terms, has highly variable rainfall. Maharashtra's irrigation coverage is much less than the national average of about 45%, despite having the highest number of dams in India.
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