Nagpur: State government plans to complete 52 long-pending irrigation projects by 2023. Of the 52 projects, 29 projects (worth Rs 7,771 crore) are from north Maharashtra, 16 (Rs 3,847 crore) from Vidarbha and seven (Rs 3,380 crore) from Marathwada. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made announcement in the state assembly on the concluding day of the week-long Winter Session on Saturday.

The completion of these projects will irrigate 2.9-lakh hectare farmland in the drought-prone north Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, apart from augmenting the availability of water in these parched belts by another 891 million cubic metre. The previous BJP-led government in August 2019 had decided to borrow Rs 15,000 crore for their completion by 2022.

In Amravati revenue division, about 100 irrigation projects were undertaken of which 46 projects are incomplete. These projects will be completed by 2022. The Gosikhurd irrigation project, the biggest project in Vidarbha region located in Bhandara district, will be completed by 2022 and the government will make necessary financial allocation. The project is expected to irrigate over 2.5 lakh hectares in Bhandara, Nagpur and Chandrapur districts.

The CM also announced Rs 253-crore special package for the Yavatmal district, notorious for high number of farmer suicides, which will see irrigation of 78,409 hectares.

Thackeray said the government will remove the backlog in the irrigation sector. He refuted the Opposition charge that the government has stayed irrigation projects being implemented by the previous government. He said the government will not stay any irrigation project.

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