On Sunday, CM Prithviraj Chavan, along with Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and other state ministers, will inaugurate 1,497 cement check dams across 15 talukas in western Maharashtra. The small dams, costing around Rs.25,000 crore, are to be the state’s solution to prevent future droughts.
It is also a clear signal from the state on their stand to consciously move away from the large alleged scam-tainted projects to smaller, more efficient irrigation methods.
Chavan terms it as his vision for creating a drought-proof Maharashtra. But the decision also highlights the government’s discomfort at the Rs.70,000-crore irrigation scam in the last decade.
Chavan said in the rainshadow region—western Maharashtra,decentralized water projects and not large dams, was the answer to fighting repeated drought. “We have irrigation projects worth Rs.80,000 crore underway but our budget this year for these projects is only Rs.7,000 crore. The water from these dams can only go to where the canals can be laid. Also, in these local water projects there is no issue of land acquisition and displacement. Villagers can supervise and implement the schemes themselves. The project will not be at the mercy of contractors,’’ he said.
“We have spent Rs 5,500 crore on drought mitigation measures. The spending was necessary but it is a waste as it will not stop recurrence of the drought,” he added.
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