Jharkhand CM Demands Special Financial Package from Centre to Improve Irrigation

The state's chief minister, Hemant Soren, sought a special financial package from the central government on Sunday to support irrigation in the area, saying that only 20% of the state's agricultural land is equipped with such facilities.

However, on August 4, state water resources minister Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, replying to a question from Mahgama MLA Deepika Pandey Singh during the monsoon session of the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha, claimed that nearly 42% of all farmed land in the state has irrigation facilities.

Soren said during the Niti Ayog meeting in New Delhi: "In Jharkhand, only 20% of the land is equipped with irrigation facilities. Upland areas can total up to 5 lakh hectares of land. If irrigation facilities are available, a wider variety of crops can be grown the state has potential for cultivation of pulses, and for that, a special package for micro-irrigation be sanctioned"

He further said that the appropriate instructions to facilitate the approval of the Kisan Credit Card by all banks. In Jharkhand, 38 lakh farmers out of which only 13 farmers were able to obtain KCC benefits till 2019.

Five lakh additional farmers have been added to the list in the last two years. The conference heard from Soren that more than 10 lakh applications are still pending in various banks.

To provide tribal students with access to higher education, the Jharkhand Assembly just approved the establishment of Pandit Raghunath Murmu Tribal University. He said that the state would soon introduce a credit card scheme to provide loans to students at low-interest rates.

The Jharkhand chief minister has also sought more share of the mining revenue generated in Jharkhand.

"Jharkhand was formed to protect the land, water, and forests. However, businesses that come here to conduct mining operations or establish businesses only take advantage of the resources. No attempt has been made by any mining company to restore the land. 

The issue of displaced persons has never been properly addressed. Therefore, I believe that Jharkhand should receive the largest portion of the profits from mining operations," he said, adding that the state has not yet received its dues of Rs.1.36 lakh crore from mining companies, which could be used for public welfare.