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Maharashtra flounders, adds to Vidarbha farmers’ woes

Projects remain incomplete because of various problems such as land acquisition and environmental clearance.

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The Maharashtra government has failed miserably in implementing the prime minister’s special package for Vidarbha to improve irrigation in the region and stop farmer suicides.

The result: Suicides continue unabated. In the past 10-15 days, at least three farmers have killed themselves; unconfirmed reports say 800 from Amravati, Buldhana, Wardha, Washim and Yavatmal — the six districts where drought is the norm — have committed suicide over the past year.

The future too appears bleak. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, state agriculture minister, told DNA that this year’s projected cotton production in the Vidarbha region has dropped to 45 lakh bales from last year's 85 lakh bales.

In July 2006, prime minister Manmohan Singh had announced a Rs3,750 crore package, including writing off Rs712 crore overdue interest on loans. The package — meant primarily for the six districts — included rescheduling of Rs1,296 crore agricultural credit over 3-5 years. A moratorium of one year was granted as well.

The Maharashtra government did start several irrigation projects, but most of those are still to be completed. “Almost 60% of the number of irrigation projects undertaken in the six districts could not be completed because of land acquisition problems," a senior secretary from the state irrigation ministry said.

The Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) had prepared an action plan to complete 82 projects within three years of the financial package being announced. Experts had said that the projects would provide irrigation to at least 1,44,745 hectares at a cost of Rs2,085 crore.

But 60 of the 82 projects remain incomplete and Rs2,500 crore has already been spent between 2006 and 2009, the irrigation ministry has quoted the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) in its report to the government.

Of these, two did not get environmental clearance as non-forest areas and four did not take off because there was no clarity regarding the rehabilitation of people who would be affected by the project.

The report also said the cost overrun reached Rs415 crore in March 2009 and in 2011, it crossed Rs800 crore. The secretary said the pending projects will have to completed in phases. "It would require another Rs1,500 crore by the end of 2012," he said.
Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP blamed "administrative complacency". "So much has already been invested; still the government could not complete a single irrigation project," he said. "In all probability, the incomplete projects would be abandoned… So, the situation will remain unchanged for farmers of the Vidarbha region."

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