National tag for UP's Sarayu irrigation project

The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to include the Sarayu Irrigation Project in Uttar Pradesh as a National Project. The irrigation project has been hanging fire since 1977-78. If completed by 2016, the project will provide ultimate irrigation benefit to 14.04 lakh hectares of agricultural land in Bahraich, Shrawasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Basti, Sant Kabirnagar, Siddharth Nagar and Gorakhpur districts. The state government could not execute the project in so many years, because of lack of funds.