"Till the end of the 11th Plan, we have treated 56 million hectares since 1980 under various schemes. In the 12th Plan, our objective is to treat 25 million hectare," Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said on the sidelines of a Conference of Ministers on Integrated Watershed Management Programme here.
The country's geographical area is 320 million hectare and the land that needs to be treated is 115 million hectare -- 40 per cent of India's geographical area.
The Minister said in the 11th Plan, the total allocation for IWMP was about Rs 9,500 crore and in 12th Plan that the Department of Land Resources is expecting an allocation of about Rs 36,000 crore, marking a four-fold rise, for watershed development in every state.
Noting that the cost norm for the watershed development is Rs 12,000 per hectare, Ramesh said in Naxal-hit districts, it is Rs 15,000 per hectare. This is extended to areas like the Chambal ravine, the districts of Western Rajasthan, some districts in Kutch in Gujarat, Bundelkhand region and parts of Karnataka.
Announcing the decision taken in the meeting, he said the system of releasing fund to states under IWMP will be changed. "Funds would be released to every state government based on an annual action plan. There will be two releases every year," Ramesh said.
Under the current system, the Centre releases 20 per cent as first installment, 50 per cent as second installment and 30 per cent as third installment over a seven-year period.
