The State Government has proposed to undertake two projects to work out the Sabuja Balaya mission. One is formation of a green belt and the other is renovation of canals. Rs 1,000 crore have been earmarked as an expenditure within five years to complete the said task.
In the current year, Rs 92 crore is proposed to be spent for the purpose. There are three types of canals in the State for sustainable irrigation of agricultural fields. The principal canals were formed during the British region.
The canals of Taladanda, Machhagan-Kendrapara, Pattamundai-Akhuapada and high level canal from Birupa river to Jenapur via Jagatsinghpur were formed during the British administration, but these canals are not maintained properly to achieve the desirable success.
The Hirakud Dam project, Salandi Dam project, Rengali Dam project, Kolab Dam project, Salandi Dam project, Indrabati Dam project and Subarnrekha Dam project were created mainly to generate electricity and provide irrigation facility to the agricultural fields. Except Salandi, all other dam projects are hydro-electrical- cum- irrigation projects. The Salandi and the high level canal of Birupa are simply irrigation projects.
Since independence, the successive Governments irrespective of the political parties did not pay any attention to proper water management and renovation of canals. The development of agriculture and water management of the State has been quite a neglected issue. The attention was rather centered on development of electricity and industries.
Odisha has fertile soil for agriculture, while it is endowed with sufficient water reserve and favourable climate. Mahanadi-Bramhani-Baitarani -Subernrekha river plains are the most fertile tracks of the State. Through the renovation of canal project, around three lakh hectares of land will be irrigated which has been targeted through this scheme of operations.
Similarly, 5,000 hectares of waterlogged areas can be brought under regular cultivation under proper management of water resources.
The main canal which directly carries water from rivers is termed as big. It has principal branch canals, which are termed as medium canals. The medium canals are further branched and the branches are termed as subsidiary branch canals. The Government has planned to renovate all canals right from big to small branches for efficient management of water resources through a network of river systems of the State.
Other than utilization of water resources through canal systems, there are other systems of water management, called lift irrigation and bore wells. The whole programme of the State Government has been processed to irrigate land up to 18,48,000 hectares of land to meet the food crisis of the State and reduce the load of importing vegetable products from other States through proper and efficient management of land and water resources.
The State Government has planned to take up canal lining work to save water from wastage. All the canals right from big to small will be lined with brick or mortar for efficient distribution of water to meet the irrigation needs and better and efficient flow of the same within the outlets with least wastage in transit. The water is generally demanded for cultivation of different types of crops during winter and summer and also during acute time of rainy season, when there is less rainfall or no rainfall.
The seepage of water cannot be taken as wastage of water and such wastage of water can be saved through lining of all types of canals. Canals not only serve the purpose of meeting the water needs for cultivation, but also serve multifarious requirements of people living within rural and urban areas. The people living within rural areas use the canal water for various purposes.
Since the British era, the scope of canal bank landscape management was carried out by planting indigenous trees. Both the banks of high-level and main canals were planted with mainly every green and semi-evergreen trees. And through eco-culture development, the microclimate of the region is maintained well. Mostly, the rural people use the banks of canals as footpath to move from one village to other.
A majority of people of rural India and so also of Odisha defecate outside their home and use open fields and grounds as their toilets and latrines. The people living in canal side villages generally use the canal banks as their toilet in morning and evening which spoil the environment and pollute the water bodies of canals. A majority of people become the victims of such unhygienic living. The total sanitation campaign has not covered all areas.
The canal banks, ponds, tank boundaries, Gochar, Anabadi cremation grounds and other village common lands should be brought under the ambit of Sabuja Balaya. Eco- agriculture, eco- horticulture and eco- forestry should be given prominence for prevalence of healthy community lives.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist)