In what may change the way in which irrigation projects are undertaken, governor Vidyasagar Rao has issued directives to the state government asking it to frame a policy for direct purchase of land for this purpose.
In what may change the way in which irrigation projects are undertaken, governor Vidyasagar Rao has issued directives to the state government asking it to frame a policy for direct purchase of land for this purpose.
The governor has also instructed that work on new irrigation projects shall not be begun till the state is able to make adequate additional resources available to complete these new projects within a defined time frame.
"It has been brought to the notice of the Governor that earlier the State Government had a policy of allowing direct purchase of land for irrigation projects. However, this has been discontinued at present. This has led to a perceptible slowing down of the speed of land acquisition in the backlog districts. Hence, the Governor has directed that the State Government may consider framing a policy for direct purchase of land," said the directives tabled before the state legislature in the ongoing budget session.
Sources from the state water resources department said that the direct purchase route would ensure speedier acquisition of land from farmers and landowners as compared to the present process, which is time-consuming. An official said this would ensure remunerative pricing, helping overcome potential time overruns.
"Considering the huge balance cost of ongoing projects and also in view of the dangers of spreading resources thin, the Governor has directed that the work on any new project shall not be started till the State Government is able to make adequate additional resources available to complete these new projects within a defined time frame, without affecting the availability of funds for the ongoing works," the directives issued under the Development Boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and Rest of Maharashtra Order, 2011 for the Annual Plan 2015-16, said.
The state has 452 ongoing projects as on April 1, 2014, with a balance cost of Rs 70,750 crore, and most of them (198 projects worth Rs 28,833 crore) are in Vidarbha followed by 178 from the Rest of Maharashtra (178 and Rs 31,665 crore) and Marathwada (76 worth Rs 10,252 crore).
The Governor noted that the financial backlog has been liquidated in all the districts by March 2011, though the backlog in physical terms has not been overcome due to time and cost overruns.
"According to a report submitted by the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, the backlog in the physical terms now exists in four districts of the State – Amravati, Akola, Washim and Buldhana," said the directives, adding that the water resources department had prepared a five-year action plan till 2014-15 for the removal of the physical backlog in these districts. However, the actual achievement was lesser than the targets, forcing the department to revise the yearly targets and reschedule the duration of this plan till 2015-16.
"A significant proportion of the allocation for removal of backlog in sectors of Public Health and Higher & Technical Education is towards ongoing civil works," reads the report, while stressing the need for close coordination between various departments for utilisation of backlog funds and completion of works in mission mode.
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