The apex agricultural credit bank has roped in various gram panchayats, self-help groups and non-government organisations (NGOs) to speed up development of rural Maharashtra through co-operative management.
Financial aid provided for the completion of these projects is expected to unlock investments worth Rs 5,566 crore creating an additional irrigation potential of about Rs 43 lakh hectare, Nabard officials said. Besides, it is expected to generate non-recurring employment of 7,070.85 lakh person days in the irrigation sector, 6,097.08 lakh person days in the construction of roads and bridges and 13.69 lakh jobs in the irrigation sector.
Loans were sanctioned under the rural infrastructure development (RIDF) scheme which began in 1995-96 (RIDF-I) with an initial corpus of Rs 2,000 crore. So far 6,811 projects have been assisted.
R Krishnamurthy, chief general manager, Nabard, said that initially the focus was on irrigation projects and from 1998 the focus shifted to construction of roads, bridges, etc. He further stated that the private sector is being encouraged to provide infrastructural development in the rural sector.
...helps Pune village to become horticulture export centre
The little-known Wadiwale village in Mawal Mulshi belt in Pune has become a hub of export-oriented horticulture units, thanks to Nabard which came to the rescue of an irrigation project languishing for 17 years. A 22-year old irrrigation project in this remote Maharashtra village finally completed after Nabard stepped in with a Rs 9.22 crore assitance in 1995. When the project was started by the Maharashtra government in October 1978, the cost was estimated at Rs 3.3 crore which went up to Rs 29.86 crore by the time it was completed.
The barren underdeveloped village has now turned into a tourist resort. The irrigation project is maintaned by the villagers through co-operative management. The project now irrigates 4,800 hectare of land.
