The 40-year long pending project, Saryu Nahar National Project, was inaugurated by Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh (UP) on December 11, 2021.
- The outlay of the project is over Rs 9,800 crore, out of which more than Rs 4,600 crore was provisioned in the last four years.
- It will cater to the problem of water shortage mainly in eastern UP/ Purvanchal with assured water for irrigation to over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers.
Key Points:
i.This project is spread over 6,623 km, covering nine Eastern UP districts namely – Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.
ii.The Saryu canal project also involves interlinking of five rivers viz. Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini to ensure optimum usage of water resources of the region.
iii.Notably, the UP Government has launched projects of Rs 10,000 crore on December 7, 2021 and had inaugurated 9 medical colleges in Siddharthnagar, and Kushinagar international airport.
Background:
Approved in 1972, Saryu Nahar National Project was initially launched in 1978 to expand irrigation facilities in Bahraich and Gonda districts and was called Ghaghra Canal.
In 1982-83, the scope of the project was expanded to include nine districts of trans-Ghaghra-Rapti-Rohini region of Purvanchal and it was renamed the Saryu Project.
- In 2012, the Central Government declared it a national project and renamed it the Saryu Canal National Project.
- In 2016, it was brought under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with the target to complete it in a time-bound manner.
- The project is also connected to the River Valley Linking Project of the Government of India.
The key reason behind the delay of this project was lack of continuity of budgetary support, interdepartmental coordination, and adequate monitoring.
Other Participants:
Governor of UP, Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister (CM) of UP Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Ministry of Jal Shakti among others.
Recent Related News:
The UP CM Yogi Adityanath has announced the launch of ‘ Uttar Pradesh Matra Bhumi Yojana’ while virtually laying other road projects under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak yojana (PMGSY). This scheme will strengthen the rural economy and infrastructure in the state.
About Uttar Pradesh (UP):
Airport– Kanpur airport, Gorakhpur airport, Agra Airport (Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Airport)
Heritage site – Agra fort (1983) , Taj Mahal (1983), Fatehpur Sikri (1986)
Bird sanctuary– Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary,Sandi Bird Sanctuary, Samaspur Bird Sanctuary
