JAIPUR: Rajasthan has sought an additional financial assistance of Rs. 2,000 crores from the Centre for achieving the target of creating irrigation capacity in 10-lakh hectare area set under the "Bharat Nirmaan'' programme. The target assigned to the State, constituting 10 per cent of the national aim, is to be met in the next four years.

The State Irrigation Minister, Sanwarlal Jat, speaking at the 13th conference of Irrigation Ministers in New Delhi on Wednesday, pointed out that the Rajasthan Government had formulated its action plan and sent it to the Centre. He said the financial assistance should be sanctioned to the State in addition to the Plan provisions.

Raising the issue of the State's share in Ravi-Beas waters, Mr. Jat said urgent steps were needed to provide full share of 8.6 million acre feet to Rajasthan and transfer the control of headworks from the Punjab Government to the Bhakra Beas Management Board. "Rajasthan has now fulfilled the terms of the inter-State river water agreement signed with Punjab and Haryana in 1981 by creating a robust irrigation infrastructure capable of utilising its full share,'' Mr. Jat said, while calling for Centre's intervention in getting the State's remaining share of 0.60 MAF water.

Referring to the measures taken for conservation of water, he said the State Government had launched ground water protection works through water harvesting structures at a cost of Rs. 200 crores and stepped up the expenditure on irrigation sector from Rs. 350 crores a year to Rs. 1,000 crores a year.

The Minister pointed out that all the pending irrigation projects in the State would be completed by 2007-08, while additional irrigation capacity in 2.5-lakh hectare area had been created during the past two years.

Mr. Jat urged the Centre to expedite the works of Narmada project so as to bring water to the drought-affected Barmer and Jalore districts in south-west Rajasthan and allocate water from the Yamuna in accordance with an agreement of 1994 to benefit Bharatpur, Churu and Jhunjhunu districts.

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