Nabard sanctions Rs 114 crore to set up 11900 checkdams

The Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) has approved a Rs 114 crore National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Nabard) loan to the government of Gujarat for construction of 11,900 checkdams in various regions.

"Gujarat frequently faces the problems of water scarcity due to scanty and short-duration rainfall. During the period of normal rainfall, a major part of the water flows into the sea as runoff in the absence of adequate number of suitable water harvesting structures as drought proofing measure in the state. To overcome this situation, the RIDF has sanctioned a Nabard loan to the Gujarat government," D N Pokale, general manager of Nabard, said.

"The checkdams, by virtue of their simple design, low cost and short construction period, are the most effective means to provide relief to the water-starved regions. Check-dams under the Sardar Patel Participatory Water Resources Conversation Project are spread over almost all the districts of Gujarat. The checkdams effectively harvest surface water and recharge the aquifer, resulting in availability of water for irrigation and drinking purposes," said Pokale.

"The benefit of the checkdams include assured irrigation for kharif, solution to the acute drinking water problem, conservation and harvesting of rain water runoff, recharge to groundwater, rise in water wells, savings in power consumption, sustainability to existing ground water structures and change in cropping pattern due to availability of assured water for irrigation. There are also indirect benefits such as decrease in soil erosion and improvement in the socio-economic conditions of farmers," said Pokale.

"Nabard had also sanctioned 12,000 checkdams in 2000 to Gujarat. The construction of these checkdams has been completed. With the present sanction, the total sanctions under RIDF to the Gujarat government aggregates Rs 1,753 crore against which Rs 1,101 crore has been availed by the government," said Pokale.