As a major part of Odisha reels under erratic rainfall adversely affecting cropping pattern, close to 17% of blocks were curiously found to have more land covered under irrigation than total cultivable land, says government data.
Information obtained through the exercise of the Right To Information Act on irrigation potential created in Odisha says irrigated land in 53 blocks out of 314 blocks exceeded total cultivable land.
“This piece of information has come as a surprise to me. When the State is struggling to bring 35% of total cultivable land in each block under irrigation, 53 blocks have more irrigated land than their total respective cultivable land,” said Bimal Pandia, a water right activist who obtained the information using RTI Act.
Kamakshyanagar block in the Dhenkanal district has a total of 19282 hectares of cultivable land. The government, however, claimed it has brought 31558 ha of land under cultivation. In the neighbouring Panjang block, a total of 26601 ha of land has been created as against the block’s cultivable land of 20536 ha. In Bhatli, agriculture can be taken up in 26030 ha of land, but government record shows 29377 ha of land had already been irrigated.
Mr. Pandia, “It raises eyebrows on the authenticity of the government data with regards to irrigation created by the State government. The Ululnda block of Subarnapur district has already achieved more than 100% of irrigation while my own lands in the block are still unirrigated.”
“Similar erroneous information could also be detected in other blocks. The State government must come clean on information regarding irrigation which is vital for the agriculture of the State,” he pointed out.
Government sources said the information with regards to higher irrigation coverage might have happened due to generation of data from multiple departments facilitating irrigation in the State.
When contacted, Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty, Engineering Chief of the Water Resource department, admitted the flaw in information on the irrigation potential created in the State.
“The area of irrigated land cannot be more than cultivable land. The mistake could have occurred as different departments had provided information on irrigation facilities. A decision has been taken for rationalization of data regarding irrigation potential created in the State. Odisha Space Application Centre and other line departments have been asked to verify information on irrigation and rationalize them,” said Mr. Mohanty
The State has a cultivated land of 61.80 lakh hectares while it has been assessed that 49.90 lakh hectares can be brought under irrigation coverage through major, medium and minor (flow and lift) irrigation projects.
According to the State government, irrigation development has not made much headway in the State in the pre-independence era. Hardly 1.83 lakh hectares of irrigation facilities were created. A good number of major, medium and minor irrigation projects have been constructed in the State during the last seven decades, increasing irrigation facilities from 1.83 lakh hectares in 1951 to 43.07 lakh hectares in 2020.
