110 million hectares of irrigation potential created: Government

NEW DELHI: As many as 110 million hectares of irrigation potential has been created through various schemes, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said during Question Hour that in the past eight years the government had added an additional irrigation potential of over seven million hectares.

Bansal said the government had plans to have an ultimate irrigation potential of 140 million hectares.

The Ministry is providing Central assistance to state governments for Creation/Utilisation of irrigation potential, through schemes like Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP), Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM), and Repairs, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies, he said.

The vision for Integrated Water Resources Development & Management proposed by the Ministry in 2003 stipulates to add irrigation potential of 20 million hectares in the next 15 years to meet the requirements of a projected population of 1.2 billion by 2015 and 1.6 billion by 2050.