New Delhi: Ahead of UP Assembly elections in 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will visit the Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh to open the Saryu Nahar National Project, which would offer guaranteed water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and assist approximately 29 lakh farmers in the region, according to his office.
According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the project cost over Rs 9,800 crore to build, with more than Rs 4,600 crore set aside in the previous four years.
Modi, in a dig at previous administrations, said that construction on the project had started in 1978 but had never been finished before his government made steps to complete it.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi writes, "You would be shocked to know that work on the Saryu Nahar National Project began in 1978 but for decades, the project was never completed. Costs increased and so did people's woes. A project that was incomplete for four decades has been finished in four years."
Saryu Nahar National Project
The project entails the interconnection of five rivers — the Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga, and Rohini — in order to maximise the region's water resources.
"I would be in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh tomorrow, 11th December for a very special programme -- the inauguration of the Saryu Nahar National Project. This project will solve irrigation related problems in Eastern UP and help our hardworking farmers," Modi said.
The project began in 1978, but owing to a lack of financial consistency, interdepartmental coordination, and sufficient monitoring, it was postponed and did not finish even after nearly four decades, according to the PMO.
According to the statement, the prime minister's vision for farmer welfare and development, as well as his commitment to prioritising long-delayed initiatives of national importance, gave much-needed emphasis to the project.
Project Was Brought Under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana In 2016
As a result, the project was brought under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana in 2016, with the goal of completing it on schedule, according to the PMO.
Innovative solutions were developed in this endeavour for fresh land acquisition to construct additional canals and bridge important gaps in the project, as well as for settling existing litigation linked to past land purchases, according to the statement.
Because of the newfound emphasis, the project was finished in under four years.
Project Will Benefit About 29 Lakh Farmers Of More Than 6,200 Villages
According to the PMO, the project would offer guaranteed water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and assist over 29 lakh farmers in over 6,200 communities.
According to the announcement, it would help nine districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh: Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, and Maharajganj.
Farmers in the region, who have suffered the most as a result of the project's unreasonable delay, would now greatly profit from the improved irrigation potential, according to the statement.
They will now be able to cultivate crops on a wider scale, maximising the region's agri-potential, according to the report.