CAG flags series of overruns in UP’s major irrigation projects

CAG flags series of overruns in UP’s major irrigation projects

Subject: Geography

Section: Places in map

Context:

• Canal irrigation is provided in only 17 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s net irrigated area despite the government pumping huge amounts of money into its major irrigation projects, found a performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

Details:

• The findings are critical as the economy of Uttar Pradesh is primarily agrarian, with about 65 per cent of the total population dependent on agriculture.
• Of a total24.09 million hectare area of the state,18.77 million hectares is agricultural land, of which 77 per cent is the net irrigated area.
• The two major canal irrigation projects:

1. Bansagar Canal Project and
2. The modernisation of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Lahchura Dam Project (also include Pahari Dam).

Bansagar Canal Project:

• Joint project between: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
• Located on: Son river
• The project aimed to increase the irrigation intensity of the nine existing canal systems from 85-150 per cent in the Culturable Command Area (CCA) of 0.23 million hectares in Prayagraj and Mirzapur districts.

Chaudhary Charan Singh Lahchura Dam Project:

• It provides water to Dhasan Canal System, with a CCA of 97,169-hectare area in Mahoba and Hamirpur districts.
• Lahchura Dam, apart from its own storage, receives water from Pahari Dam.

Issues with the canal projects:

• Insufficient water storage capacity.
• Unable to provide canal irrigation in the entire command area
• Current unavailability of water in the canal systems
• Low irrigation intensity
• Huge cost overruns due to delay in the project execution.
• Inadequate quality control