Go with the tide

Jorhat, Dec. 2: The civil division of the irrigation department here has taken up a slew of flow irrigation schemes in the district after a span of more than four decades, with the largest being undertaken at Kakojan on the eastern outskirts of Jorhat town.

M.C. Medok, assistant executive engineer of the division, said because of the huge cost of such schemes — Rs 100-150 lakh for irrigating 100 hectares of land — the state government had not been able to provide funds, as a result of which the last flow irrigation scheme had been implemented in the district way back in 1962-63.

The Kakojan scheme will irrigate 700 hectares of land at an estimated cost of Rs 910 lakh. The first phase of work began in February, with Rs 634 lakh being sanctioned by the accelerated beneficiary benefit programme under the Union water resources ministry.

The scheme, which proposes a number of head works on the Kakojan river with six sluice gates, will benefit Komar Khatuwal Gaon, Bongaon, Duliagaon, Dharigaon, Medhi Sonarigaon and Kamargaon.

“The flow irrigation scheme has advantages over lift irrigation and deep tubewell irrigation schemes as it does not require any power for operating, nor is there requirement of a pump, which invariably is not replaced when it goes out of order, making many irrigation schemes in the district non-functional,” Medok said.

Some of the other ongoing flow irrigation schemes are Kakodonga, being constructed at a cost of Rs 310 lakh, to cover an area of 500 hectares at Matikhola and Raidangjuri under Jorhat sub-division, Lahingjan at an estimated cost of Rs 66 lakh and to cover 100 hectares at Kohargaon, Bamungaon and Sonarigaon under Jorhat sub-division, Teok at a cost of Rs 360 lakh to cover 360 hectares at Lephera Gaon, Halowa Pathar and Khatopathar under Jorhat subdivision and Chirakhati at an estimated cost of Rs 250 lakh to cover 250 hectares at Nagaon Nagajanka village, Ganjugaon and Kurmigaon under Titabor sub-division.

The other proposed flow irrigation schemes are Rongajan being constructed at Jorhat north-west development block at an estimated cost of Rs 130 lakh to irrigate an area of 100 hectares at Chengeligaon, Kolakhowagaon, Komargaon, Komarmatigaon and Potia Pokhola gaon, Na-juli under Titabor subdivision and Mugroijan both under Titabor sub-division, both to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 130 lakh and to irrigate areas of 100 hectares each at Pangchual, Bochagaon, Bosabiharigaon and no. 1 Mugroijan, Phukan Habi, Bill gaon and Kalgaon, respectively.

Some of these schemes are being sponsored by rural infrastructure development fund under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

Medok said the work on these schemes would start after the kharif harvest and should be completed by 2013, while the ongoing ones should be completed by 2011 and 2012.

“There are 62 completed minor irrigation schemes with a created potential of 5,609 hectares, out of which 2,458 hectare irrigation potential is available now,” an official of the division said.

An official of the agriculture department, however, said the figures available with them were that Jorhat district had 1,52,900 hectares of cultivable area out of which the irrigation department covers 1,917 hectares and the shallow tubewell irrigated areas under the agriculture department covers 5,258 hectares, the total irrigated area covered being only 7,175 hectares.