Irrigation facility was created for 13.49 lakh hectares of cultivable land during the last 10 years from April 2009 to June-end 2019 and, with this, total irrigation coverage increased to 22 per cent in the State.
Water Resources Minister Raghunandan Das informed this in the State Assembly in response to a question of Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati on Wednesday.
The Minister said irrigation facility is now provided to at total of 42.18 lakh hectors.
The State Government has undertaken various projects to increased irrigation coverage to 35 per cent in each of 314 blocks. By now, 245 blocks have got 35 irrigation coverage and efforts are on to provide as much irrigation facility to 69 blocks. Though it is difficult to create 35 per cent irrigation coverage in these blocks, yet the Governent has kept taking efforts, said the Minister.
According data provided by the Minister, highest 344.01 thousand hectares of land have been irrigated in Ganjam district and the lowest of 39.10 thousand hectares irrigated in Gajapati district.