Chandigarh, August 21:– Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Shyam Singh Rana said that "Water Secure Haryana" program will be implemented in the state so that water security can be strengthened and sustainable farming methods can be further promoted.
Shri Rana was chairing a meeting of Agriculture Department officials in his office here today. On this occasion, Director of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department Shri Rajnarayan Kaushik, Additional Director Shri Rampratap Sihag and Dr. Devendra Sihag, besides other officials, were also present.
The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister said that the main objective of this program or scheme is to make waterlogged land fertile through sub-surface and vertical drainage techniques, promote water-saving crops and modern technologies, adopt climate-smart farming practices and increase farmers' income by reducing the area of ??high water-consuming crops. He said that the program will be implemented under a cluster-based strategy. For water recharge and salinity improvement, 2.0 lakh acres of land has been targeted in Cluster-13 of Jhajjar and Rohtak and other affected districts, in which drainage systems will be installed in a phased manner. With the aim of crop diversification and water conservation, a target of Direct Sowing of Paddy (DSR) has been set in 5.0 lakh acres of area in Cluster-5 of Kuruketra, Kaithal, Jind and Karnal, while alternative crops will be promoted in 1.12 lakh acres of area in Cluster-13 under 'Mera Pani Meri Virasat'.
Apart from this, the use of gypsum and green manure will be made mandatory in both the clusters on the basis of soil testing.
Shri Shyam Singh Rana informed that this programme is proposed to be implemented in a total period of six years from the year 2026 to 2032, the total estimated cost of which has been fixed at Rs. 5,714.80 crore. 70 percent of the amount i.e. Rs. 4,000.36 crore will be provided as financial assistance by the World Bank, while the remaining 30 percent i.e. Rs. 1,714.44 crore will be borne by the Haryana Government as its share.
This financing will be done under the World Bank's 'Program-for-Results' mechanism, in which the release of funds will depend on the achievement of pre-determined indicators. After obtaining necessary approvals from various central departments including NITI Aayog, Central Jal Aayog and Ministry of Jal Shakti and the state cabinet, the proposal has been formally submitted to the World Bank, the final loan approval of which is targeted to be completed by October 2026.
The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has allocated a budget of Rs. 886.00 crore for the agricultural component of this project, which is about 16 percent of the total project cost. Out of this, Rs. 436.00 crore will be used for water recharge and improvement of waterlogged land, while Rs. 450.00 crore will be spent on promoting direct sowing of paddy (DSR), crop diversification under 'Mera Pani Meri Virasat' scheme, use of sphagnum based green manure and gypsum. At the end of the meeting, the Agriculture Minister gave clear instructions to the officers to complete the annual targets set in all the clusters in a time bound manner with complete transparency and quality so that the farmers get direct and quick benefits of this scheme.