Dutta claims to have performed 100 per cent

Report cards of 100-day action plans in Irrigation, Handloom and Textile, and Sericulture departments

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 4: State Irrigation, Handloom and Textile and Sericulture Minister Ranjit Dutta has claimed to have completed 100 per cent of the 100 days action plans which he had taken following a directive from Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal. The minister has already submitted his report cards to the Chief Minister, and gave an account of the works today before the press as well.

Talking to newsmen at Chief Minister’s Conference Hall at Dispur today, Dutta said that he had taken up as many as five different programmes in the Irrigation Department for the first 100 days of the term. He claimed to have done all the five programmes successfully. The programmes and their status of deliveries, according to the minister, are (i) twenty minor irrigation schemes under BARD to create 1,554 hectares of irrigation potential. Nineteen of the 20 schemes have already been completed, benefiting 1,451 farmers by creating irrigation potential of 1,524 hectares of arable land. The minister, however, said that electrical part of the scheme ‘Dimarupar part 1’ could not be completed due to inundation of the area along the HT line. The minister said that it would be completed after recession of water.

(ii) Another minor irrigation, also under BARD, to create irrigation potential to 420 hectares of arable land was taken up. The scheme, according to the minister, has been completed, benefiting 187 farmers.

(iii) As many as 54 irrigation schemes have been revived through repair, thereby creating an irrigation potential of 3,211 hectares of arable land.

(iv) The department has furnished all required information for DIP and SIP to the Agriculture Department, which is the nodal department on PMKSY.     

(v) On the amendment to the Assam Irrigation Rules, 1997 and the Assam Irrigation Water Users’ Act, 2004 for empowering water users’ associations in participatory irrigation magement, the department has already prepared the Cabinet memoranda for amendment of ‘Assam Irrigation Water Users’ Act, 2004’ and ‘Assam Irrigation Rules, 1997’  and circulated them to various departments. The minister said that the views of most of the departments had been received and appropriately incorporated, and now it would be sent to the Cabinet.

The minister further said that he would take seven pilot deep tube well projects based on solar system. In such projects, according to the minister, the pipes are laid underground. Each of the seven pilot projects would cost Rs 60 lakh, he said.

According to the minister, only 1,303 irrigation schemes have been running under his department, and 778 of them are central schemes. “There’s no chance of reviving 208 defunct schemes,” he said, and added: “With these, as many as 7.82 lakh hectares of 27 lakh hectares of arable land in the State has been brought under irrigation.”

The minister made it a point that lack of adequate number of vehicles in the department has been a problem for the engineers to go to the field. “Lack of adequate manpower is also adding to the problems,” he added.

In Handloom and Textile Department, a weaving scheme could produce as many as 71,400 gamosas in 24 districts. According to the minister, ten of eleven yarn banks taken up in the first 100 days action plans costing Rs 469 lakh were set up. The minister said that the yarn banks were set to benefit the weavers. 

In Sericulture Department as many as 25,20,361 saplings meant for rearing endi, muga and pat cocoons have been planted, surpassing the target of 25 lakh, under the MGNREGA, the minister said.