Gujarat government will launch the 'Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojana' on August 30, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said today.
The scheme is aimed at filling up irrigation dams of Saurashtra region with surplus Narmada river water.
"Out of 115 dams to be covered under the SAUNI project, 10 of them will be filled up ahead of the inauguration, which will be held on the border of Rajkot and Morbi district on August 30," Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar.
"With an aim to provide sufficient irrigation water to farmers of Saurashtra region, Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister had launched this ambitious project in 2012 by laying the foundation stone. Now, his dream is getting realised, as we (the Gujarat government) will now inaugurate the project," Rupani said.
"We have invited Modi for the programme and have already sent our invitation. Our preparations for the programme has also started as we have received indications that Modi is planning to attend the event on August 30. We have learned that his schedule will be finalised within couple of days," Rupani added.
The total cost of the project is Rs 12,000 crore.
As per the Chief Minister, upon completion of the entire project, farmers of Saurashtra region will be able to grow three crops per year.
"At present, we are filling up 10 dams, including Aaji-3 and Macchu. When all the 115 dams will be filled up in near future, it will benefit farmers of 5,000 villages of Saurashtra region, as they will be able to take three crops in a year. This project is capable of providing water to lakhs of hectares of agriculture land," Rupani claimed.
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