Individual irrigation benefits for non-SC/ST farmers unlikely soon

Faced with financial constraints, the government is exploring ways to provide irrigation benefits tailor-made to the needs of individual farmers belonging to all caste groups, but it looks unlikely for now.

This facility is currently available only for SC/ST agriculturists.

Individual benefits include lift irrigation, open wells and pipelines for farmlands. A farmer can apply with the minor irrigation department for any irrigation benefit for his or her land.

At present, funds from the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan (SCP-TSP) are used to provide individual irrigation benefits to SC/ST farmers.

The minor irrigation department has received 245 proposals from SC/ST farmers, mostly from north Karnataka, seeking individual irrigation facilities. This will cost the government nearly Rs 100 crore.

According to sources, there is pressure on the government to extend this to farmers of all communities.

Minor Irrigation Minister J C Madhuswamy told DH that some individual irrigation projects were taken up as an experiment to see if it was feasible to extend the benefit to non-SC/ST farmers. However, it did not make sense financially.

“We’re going slow because of financial constraints,” Madhuswamy said.

“We took up some projects in north Karnataka, but because of the finances involved, we aren’t scaling up.”

The experimental projects that were taken up need a separate policy to assess their efficiency and management, Madhuswamy added.

In fact, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, in his 2021-22 Budget, has promised a policy “with suitable guidelines” for “the systematic operation and management of all lift irrigation projects”.

The government is under a similar pressure to give non-SC/ST farmers a hike in the cash benefit for constructing cattle sheds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

To build a cattle shed, SC/ST farmers get Rs 43,500 and those from other communities get Rs 19,625. Sources said this caused ‘heartburn’ among non-SC/ST farmers.