Centre approves Rs 1,600-crore scheme for modernisation of irrigation network; 80k farmers to be part of pilot projects

An official statement said, “The scheme aims for modernisation of the irrigation water supply network to supply irrigation water from existing canals or other sources in a designated cluster. It will make robust backend infrastructure for micro-irrigation by farmers from established source to the Farm gate upto 1 Ha with underground pressurized piped irrigation.”

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Internet of Things technology will be used for water accounting and management, the statement added. “This will increase the Water Use Efficiency (WUE) at the farm level, increase agriculture production & productivity; and thereby increase the income of farmers,” it said.

The statement further said, “The projects will be made sustainable by Irrigation Management Transfer to the Water User Society for management of irrigation assets. The Water User Societies will be given handholding support for linking them with existing Economic Entities like FPO (Farmer Producer Organisations) or PACS (Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies) for five years. The youth will also be attracted to farming, to adopt the modern method of irrigation.”

“The initial approval is for taking up pilot projects across various agroclimatic zones in the country by challenge funding to the states. Based on the learnings in design and structuring of these projects, the National Plan for Command Area Development and Water Management will be launched starting from April 2026 for the 16th Finance Commission period,” it said.