Government to complete 99 irrigation projects by 2019: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

HYDERABAD: The government would complete 99 irrigation projects by 2019 to provide irrigation facilities to farmers, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said here today.

"We will complete 99 (irrigation) projects by 2019," he told reporters after addressing a ' Sankalp se Siddhi' programme here.

The irrigation projects have been taken up as part of the NDA government's initiatives to double farmers' income, the Minister of State for Agriculture and & Farmers' Welfare said.

"Soil health cards, e-NAM, promotion of agriculture and allied sectors like poultry, availability of neem-coated urea, crop insurance scheme are part of the initiatives to double farmers' income," he added.

Talking about the NDA government's resolve to ushering a 'New India', he said the country can be transformed by eradicating corruption, poverty and ensuring all-round development if the countrymen take a pledge to work towards the poor.

"The countrymen had taken similar pledge to attain freedom for the country in the pre-independence era," he said.

Earlier, Shekhawat administered a pledge to those present at the meeting that they will make efforts towards achieving a 'New India'.

Every citizen can contribute in his own way to transform the country into a developed by 2022, when the nation celebrates 75 years of independence, he said.