JAMMU: Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a meeting of senior officers to review the status of micro irrigation and irrigation for Kharif 2023 at Civil Secretariat Jammu.
Principal Secretary Jal Shakti, Shaleen Kabra, was also present in the meeting.
The meeting discussed various issues related to Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) for three years, and other irrigation-related issues faced by the farmers in Jammu and Kashmir besides, the Budget Estimate plan for 2023-2024.
Director, APD, Kashmir briefed the meeting about component-wise activities of various allied departments and Ministries prior 2022, and proposed an annual action plan under the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component of PMKSY for the year 2022-23.
The meeting was informed that the PMKSY scheme was launched by the government of India in 2015 with the objective of convergence of investments in irrigation, enhance access to irrigation and adoption of precision-irrigation, improved on-farm water use efficiency, water conservation and groundwater recharge and extension activities.
Atal Dulloo directed the officers of concerned departments to ensure the desilting of canals to make them functional by 1st March in the Jammu division and 1st April in Kashmir division. He also asked them to ensure that water reached the tail end of the canals in every village in Jammu and Kashmir.
ACS directed the Directors of Agriculture Jammu and Kashmir to prepare an irrigation schedule with the assistance of CEs Irrigation, FC Jammu and Kashmir in consultation with the Rural Development department. He said that the schedule will help the water users, especially the farming community.
Chief Engineers Irrigation and Directors of APD of both the divisions were directed to formulate a project proposal for Udhampur and Baramulla districts under the PM Gati Shakti scheme. If the projects are thrown open successfully then the same projects shall be replicated in other districts of Union Territory so that more and more areas are brought under irrigation in these districts.
Director Agriculture Jammu, K K Sharma; Director Horticulture, Jammu, Ram Savak; Director CAD Jammu, Rajinder Singh Tara; Chief Engineer, I&FC Jammu and other concerned officers were present in the meeting besides Director Agriculture Kashmir, Iqbal Choudhary, and other senior officers of Agriculture and allied Departments participated through virtual mode.
