Dhar, Oct 24 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday inaugurated the Narmada-Jhabua-Petlawad-Thandla-Sardarpur Micro Lift Irrigation Project costing Rs 2,387.60 crore.
The project will irrigate 57,422 hectares of land in 260 villages across Dha and Jhabua districts and benefit approximately 72,000 farmers.
He reviewed its route map, performed the groundbreaking ceremony and inauguration of 188 development projects and also transferred Rs 317.86 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana into the accounts of beneficiaries.
“Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the Sardar Sarovar Dam, the Dhar-Jhabua region is receiving water from the Narmada River through various projects. The farmers of the region have been gifted the Narmada-Jhabua-Petlawad-Thandla-Sardarpur Micro Lift Irrigation Project costing Rs 2,387 crore,” Yadav said.
He said that till 2002-03, only 7.5 lakh hectares of land were irrigated in the state. With the formation of BJP governments in the state, the irrigation area increased to 40 lakh hectares by 2023, Yadav pointed out.
In the last two and a half years, the MP government has increased the irrigation area to 60 lakh hectares and the target is to raise it to 100 lakh hectares, he added.
“When dry fields receive water, crops shine like gold. The state government is working in every sector, including agriculture and industry. The prosperity of the state’s farmers is our goal. Road, rail, and air facilities are rapidly expanding. Dhar has now received a railway line. On his birthday, Modi presented the gift of the PM Mitra Park to the district,” he said.
The PM Mitra Park will benefit 600,000 cotton-producing farmers in the Nimar-Malwa region. Now, cotton will be converted into yarn, yarn into fabric, and fabric into readymade garments all at one location, the CM said.
“The PM Mitra Park will provide employment opportunities to 300,000 people. Youth, farmers and women of Dhar and Jhabua will no longer have to migrate,” he asserted.
Yadav said the Amka-Jhamka Mata site in Dhar, where it is believed that Lord Krishna married Rukmini, is being developed as a pilgrimage site by including it in the Shri Krishna Pathey Yojana.
“Today, Dhar district has received a total gift of Rs 2,400 crore. This includes the micro-lift irrigation project, the inauguration of four bridges worth Rs 25 crore, a school building costing Rs 15 crore, a 50-bed hospital, and other development projects. Groundbreaking ceremonies are also being held today for 35 new projects worth Rs 188 crore. Dhar will soon get a medical college,” Yadav said.
Urban Development and Housing Minister and Dhar district in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya said the chief minister has pledged to irrigate 100 lakh hectares of land in the state.
“Today, 72,000 farmers in the region have benefited from the Micro Lift Irrigation Project. The then Congress chief minister had declared this project impossible. Today, times have changed. Our farmers will harvest not one, but three crops from the waters of Narmada and Mahi rivers,” he said.
Under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Yadav, Madhya Pradesh’s double-engine government is working in every field, including women’s empowerment and youth skill development, Union Minister Savitri Thakur said.
The Micro Lift Irrigation Project will make Narmada water available in Jhabua, Petlawad, Thandla, and Sardarpur, said Women and Child Development Minister Nirmala Bhuria.
“Some areas have been left out. They will be added soon. The state is undergoing comprehensive development under the leadership of Yadav,” Bhuria said.
(PTI News)
