ALERT-Cabinet to discuss Rs 50,000-cr irrigation plan, agri market

The Cabinet is expected to discuss on Wednesday subsuming all irrigation schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). The idea is to provide irrigation to every village.

PMKSY would have an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore spread over five years. Officials said the Cabinet would also discuss a proposal to set up a national agricultural market through an online platform for the benefit of farmers, with an outlay of Rs 200 crore. This would be spread over three years from 2015-16. As part of the national market scheme, the Centre would identify 50 mandis in 10 states and the functioning of these would be reformed with the help of the state governments.

According to a note on the national common market, the state governments would have to switch to modern practices such as a single-trading licence for the entire region; a single point levy of market fee (mandi tax) and electronic auction for price discovery at the identified mandis. Funding would be given after that.

Gradually, all the 585 regulated markets in the country would be covered.

The new irrigation scheme assumes importance as 65 per cent of the 142 million hectares of cultivable farmland in the country are not covered under irrigation. Officials said PMKSY, with a budget allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for this financial year, has proposed to provide flexibility and autonomy to states in planning and executing projects to ensure water to every farm.

The state agriculture department would be the nodal agency for implementing PMKSY projects, while there would also be an inter-ministerial national steering committee for periodic review.

PMKSY would focus on “end-to-end solution” in irrigation supply chain by implementing the new programme in a “project mode” with decentralised state-level planning and execution, sources said. PMKSY funds would be given to states as 75 per cent grant by the Centre and the remaining would be borne by the state government concerned. For the Northeastern region and hilly states, the funding pattern would be 90:10.