DAMNED BY THE IRRIGATION SCAM : AAP Black Paper Highlights

1.    The Black Paper illustrates what a genuine White Paper on Irrigation should have ideally been like. The White Paper of the Irrigation Department is a farcical ‘Status Paper’ made to cover up the gross illegalities committed. In fact it is a joke that the White Paper is being prepared by the WRD itself! Hence, AAP has brought out the true picture through a Black Paper.

2.    It illustrates that figures relating to area brought under irrigation, as claimed in the White Paper, are misleading. We have learned that the WRD’s White Paper states that the land under irrigation has increased by 12.47 lakh hectares since 2001, that is 6 to 9%.  Assuming these figures are correct we have to understand that any increase mentioned is a result of irrigation due to wells, bore wells, drip irrigation, lift irrigation and not just due to dams and canals for which the WRD has made huge expenditure. We have also heard that the White Paper claims that the land under irrigation area has increased from 17.8% since 2001 to 28% but this is misleading as it pertain to the increase in the percentage of gross irrigated area to the gross cropped area.

3.    It has been prepared after analyzing data from sources and the findings show that the WRD’s tall claims about the area brought under irrigation are contradictory. As per WRD’s own data during 08-09 to 09-10, irrigation potential increased by only 0.148 Mha (Million Hectares) i.e. by a mere 3% year on year and irrigation on canals has actually decreased by 0.169 Mha. The ultimate irrigation potential stated by NABARD is 8.4 Mha while the CWC has stated it as 8.952 Mha, nowhere close to WRD claim of 12.6 Mha. DES data states that Irrigation Potential created by completed projects was a mere 2.95 Mha as agasint the WRD claim of 4.486 Mha.

4.    The Black Paper shows how Maharashtra, despite having the highest number of large dams has lesser increase in irrigated area vis-à-vis other States in the Country. As per CWC the Net Irrigated Area has actually decreased between the years 2000 and 2008!

Net Irrigated Area in Thousand Hectares
Period		Maharashtra	Madhya Pradesh	Gujrat	Orissa
2000	2001	3,249	4,135	2,806	1,334
2007	2008	3,181	6,418	3,528	2,158
Increase (%)		-2.09%	55.21%	25.73%	61.77%

           

          There is no other State in India or even Country in the world which has such shameful achievements

           

5.    The Black Paper proves how the cost per hectare for bringing land under irrigation in Maharashtra is the highest in the Country and probably in the World. The gross irrigated area has increased by a mere 8.9 % in spite of an annual expenditure of Rs. 7,000 crores amounting to a staggering Rs. 70,000 crores. That means Rs. 21.67 lacs per hectare which is in gross violation as the limit mandated by the Central Water Commission of Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh per hectare.

6.    The Black Paper exposes the modus operandi of the Irrigation Scam and the politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus.

7.    The Black Paper also exposes that the main reason of such dismal performance of the WRD is largely due to the illegal diversion of water from Irrigation Projects for non-irrigation purposes. Water reserved for non-irrigation use (i.e. domestic and industrial) should be within the 15% to 25% spectrum but this ratio is cruelly reversed. At least 398.87 million cubic metres of water per year was diverted from irrigation to thermal power plants in Vidarbha between 2003 and 2011. This water could irrigate approximately 79,774 hectares of farmland. Coal-based thermal power is an extremely water-intensive way to generate energy.

8.    The Black Paper exposes the Laws, Acts, G.R.s and guidelines that have been violated by the WRD in almost all irrigation projects.

·       Violations of various Acts of the State and Central Govt.

·       Violations of the Hon’ble Governor’s Directives’

·       Violations of Govt.’s norms

·       Violations of IDC’s norms

·       Violations of CVC norms

·       By-passing the MWRRA

·       Creating Regional imbalances

·       Creating financial burden on the State

·       Partisanship to select contractors

·       Cartelization of bidders in tenders

·       Increasing the scope of work after tendering

·       Allotting dis-proportionately large number of projects to a few select contractors

9.    This Back Paper therefore demands the following actions from the Govt. of Maharashtra:

·      Immediate resignation of Sunil Tatkare, Minister WRD;

·      Set up an SIT probe to investigate into the Irrigation Scam;

·      Halt all dam projects in the State where there are violations and where Rehabilitation and Resettlement of PAPs has not been completed

·      Initiate disciplinary & punitive action against the Ministers and Officers of the WRD found guilty and implicated by the SIT probe and recover the funds siphoned off by them;

·      Black-list the contractors found guilty and implicated by the SIT probe and recover the funds siphoned off by them;

·      Initiate disciplinary & punitive action against the contractors found guilty and implicated by the SIT probe.