Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh government will
launch an ambitious scheme `Indira Jala Prabha` on Gandhi
Jayanthi day to bring 10 lakh acres of land belonging to the
Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) under
irrigation.
A sum of Rs 1,600 crore will be spent under the new
scheme that would benefit five lakh SC and ST families, the
state government said today.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy discussed modalities
of the scheme with Finance Minister Aanam Ramanarayana Reddy,
Rural Development Minister D Manikya Varaprasad, Principal
Secretary (Rural Development) R Subrahmanyam and other senior
officials here today.
The scheme would be integrated with the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme(MGNREGP) so as
to draw 50 per cent of funds while the balance would be pooled
from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development,
according to a press release from the Chief Minister`s Office.
Blocks of 10 acres would be identified in each village
and Common Interest Groups formed with land owners to take up
land development activity. So far, over 33,000 such blocks
have been identified in 16,742 villages, the CMO said.
In all, the state government intends to develop
irrigation facilities for 50 lakh acres under the MGNREGP,
including 10 lakh acres under Indira Jala Prabha, so as to
benefit 22 lakh families, it said.
PTI
