Parliament Question: Irrigation Initiatives and its Impact on Farmers’ Income

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6214 ANSWERED ON 02.04.2026 IRRIGATION INITIATIVES AND ITS IMPACT ON FARMERS’ INCOME 6214. SHRI ADHIKARI DEEPAK DEV: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) the details of the initiatives taken by the Government in recent years to augment irrigation facilities for farmers, State/UT-wise; (b) the status of adoption of such interventions, State/UT-wise; and (c) whether the impact of such interventions on farmers’ income has been evaluated, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) to (c) Water being a State subject, it is for the concerned State Government to plan, implement, operate and manage irrigation projects, and to prepare action plans for expanding irrigation in the State. The Government of India provides technical support and partial financial assistance to projects included under ongoing schemes. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched during the year 2015-16, with an aim to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable areas under assured irrigation, improve on- farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc. Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) and Har Khet Ko Paani (HKKP) are two major components of PMKSY, being implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Additional irrigation potential of 29.23 lakh hectare has been created under PMKSY-AIBP and 22.21 lakh hectare command area has been developed under PMKSY HKKP-CAD&WM during 2016-25. 5.57 lakh hectare irrigation potential has been created/restored under Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies (RRR) sub-components of PMKSY-HKKP during 2016-25. State-wise details of irrigation potential created and command area developed under different components of PMKSY are placed at Annexure. Further, a special package for Maharashtra for the completion of eight (08) major and medium irrigation projects and eighty-three (83) surface minor irrigation schemes in suicide prone districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada and rest of Maharashtra region of the state of Maharashtra was sanctioned in July 2018. Three (03) major and medium projects and seventy (70) surface minor irrigation schemes have been completed. 2.16 lakh hectare irrigation potential has been developed under this scheme. In addition, a pilot scheme viz. Modernisation of Command Area Development and Water Management (MCAD) has been launched with aim to modernize irrigation water supply network with robust backend infrastructure for micro-irrigation by farmers from established source to the farm gate with underground pressurized piped irrigation. These initiatives have improved the reach and reliability of irrigation water at the farm level. Enhanced command area development and adoption of micro-irrigation have led to better water use efficiency, expansion of irrigated area, and increased cropping intensity, thereby contributing to higher agricultural productivity and improved farmers’ incomes. *** 1ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6214 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 02.04.2026 REGARDING “IRRIGATION INITIATIVES AND ITS IMPACT ON FARMERS’ INCOME”. Irrigation potential created and command area developed during 2016-25 under different components of PMKSY Irrigation Potential/ Command Area are in thousand hectares Irrigation potential Irrigation potential Command Area Sl. created/restored State/UT developed under Developed under No. under PMKSY- PMKSY-AIBP PMKSY-CAD&WM HKKP 1 Andhra Pradesh 24.33 0.93 1.47 2 Arunachal Pradesh - - 26.49 3 Assam 39.74 25.4 137.29 4 Bihar 32.2 19.13 56.46 5 Chhattisgarh 18.17 13.26 4.87 6 Goa 4.24 8.21 - 7 Gujarat 614.9 1048.79 3.9 8 Himachal Pradesh 0.96 - 33.51 9 Jharkhand 95.32 0 6.09 10 Karnataka 116.86 42.94 11.73 11 Kerala 2.9 13.28 - 12 Madhya Pradesh 198.61 420.9 39.83 13 Maharashtra 416.27 279.27 - 14 Manipur 26.47 17.07 18.55 15 Meghalaya - - 30.72 16 Mizoram - - 2.17 17 Nagaland - - 13.36 18 Odisha 102.33 106.48 40.36 19 Punjab 223.63 101.72 - 20 Rajasthan 27.94 103.48 19.01 21 Sikkim - - 5.18 22 Tamil Nadu 7.6 - 13.96 23 Telangana 195.79 10.68 25.55 24 Uttar Pradesh 768.63 7.32 2.35 25 Uttarakhand 0 - 29.92 UT of Jammu & 26 6.52 2.05 29.39 Kashmir 27 UT of Ladakh 0 0 4.89 Total 2923.41 2220.91 557.05 ***** 2