Water resources minister Ramchandra Sahis said on Wednesday that Jharkhand has seen a 21 per cent increase in the proportion of irrigated land in the last four-and-a-half years and that the state government was working towards meeting the national target of 67 per cent.

Addressing the media, the minister said in 2014 a total of 91,323 hectare of cultivated land, working out to 16 per cent, was covered by various irrigation projects.

“Now, as on this date, we are able to provide water to irrigate 37 per cent cultivated land which is around 200,720 hectare. We have commissioned several big and medium irrigation projects. As many as 55 irrigation projects are being renovated, while 26 new projects have been approved. The way we are progressing, we will achieve the national target,” the minister said.

Sahis said the government was giving special attention to ensure irrigation facilities in parched areas of the state, like the Palamau division where projects worth Rs 1,272 crore had been launched to distribute water from Sone and Kanhar rivers. Garhwa district is one of the beneficiaries of the initiative.

He said construction was in the advanced stages in several irrigation projects like Konar and Uttari Koyal and that there was sufficient water in 47 of the state’s 55 dams and reservoirs.

Asked about the Amanat river irrigation project at Chandrapur in Palamau district which has been pending for the past 36 years, the minister said that 370 hectare land had been acquired so far.

“We need 409.04 hectares of which 370 hectares have been acquired. There is a shortage of funds to acquire the remaining land. The department requires Rs 102 crore and funds have been sought from the state government,” he said.