Rayagada: Lack of coordination between government agencies and an indifferent attitude of the lift irrigation department has resulted in several hectares of cultivated land remaining barren for the last couple of years, according to a report.
The stretch of unproductive agricultural land has forced the farmers to contemplate taking up other professions in Kolnara block of Rayagada district, the report added.
It is learnt that the state government spends crores of rupees to irrigate the farmlands through canals, check dams and deep bore wells. But the farmers are often found at the receiving end thanks to poor coordination between irrigation, agriculture and electricity departments.
For instance, several deep bore wells dug at several pockets of the block are yet to become operational as there is no electricity connection to these areas due to the callousness of the irrigation department engineers. Several hectares of agriculture lands have turned unproductive because of water scarcity, the farmers alleged. Further, the bore wells were not laid according to government specifications, they added.
According to government rules, a farmer has to deposit a testing fee with the irrigation department for excavation of a bore well on his land. Accordingly, the name of the farmer is registered with the department and he receives a receipt to this effect. Once the name is registered, the farmer becomes eligible to get electricity connection from Southco, the electricity service provider in the block.
However, the above norms were flouted in Manisingh village of Suri panchayat of the block. Five bore wells were dug in the village during 2013-14 fiscal. The farmers deposited Rs 1,000 each as testing fees and urged the concerned junior engineer for receipts. Later, it was learnt that each farmer has to deposit Rs 19,000 with the department otherwise action would be taken against them. But to their shock, they found that their names were not registered when the five went to deposit Rs19,000. They could neither deposit the money nor get electricity connection for their projects. Children, playing around the bore well, have now started dumping stones and pebbles into it which would ultimately damage the bore well, farmers said.
Similarly, a farmer Radhakrushna Mishra deposited the testing fees after a bore well was dug on his land in 2013-14. Mishra had given Rs 25,000 to the concerned engineer for electricity connection but his bore well too has been lying sans electrification. When the farmers started inquiring into these issues in earnest, the concerned junior engineer refunded all the money to them and managed to get himself transferred. Several similar cases also came to light recently in Therubali and Maudiguda panchayats of Kolnara block.
One more irregularity which was found in all the bore wells was the inconsistency in the depth of the wells. The depth of the bore wells was maintained at maximum 280 ft while they should be have been 320 ft each according to government norms.
The administration should give priority to the problems of the farmers and ensure proper irrigation facility, farmers Balram Naga, P Balkrishna and others demanded. The officials of the irrigation department couldn’t be contacted over the issue. PNN
