Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav has said work on the Karwani lift irrigation project in the Harsud assembly constituency will be taken up on priority, while setting a target of expanding the state’s irrigated area to more than 100 lakh hectares within five years.
Yadav made the announcement in Khandwa while addressing tendu leaf collectors. The project is among a series of development measures announced for Khandwa and surrounding tribal areas, including power supply works, hostels, schools and community infrastructure.
The chief minister said all power supply works in tribal areas would be completed at a cost of Rs 25 crore. The announcement did not provide a completion date or further details on the scope, capacity or command area of the Karwani lift irrigation project.
The state government’s five-year irrigation target is significant for the management of agricultural water infrastructure because lift irrigation requires coordinated investment in water sources, pumping systems, electricity supply and distribution networks. The announcement, however, did not specify how much additional irrigated land would be created by the Karwani project or identify the funding and implementation agencies responsible for it.
The Khandwa programme also included the announcement of six Sandipani schools in Khalwa tehsil and a 490-seat girls’ hostel in Harsud. Yadav said hostels would receive roti-making machines, water coolers and e-libraries, with Rs 34 crore allocated for the machines.
The chief minister further announced 40 new tribal hostels at an estimated cost of about Rs 161 crore. Ashram schools would receive an additional Rs 143 crore, while a hi-tech nursery costing more than Rs 10 crore would be established in Khandwa. Sports complexes were also announced for every assembly constituency in the district.
At the event, the government distributed more than Rs 21.34 crore as a bonus to 3,54,126 tendu leaf collectors from Khandwa, Burhanpur, Barwani, Khargone, Dewas and Harda districts. Khandwa accounted for 32,846 of the beneficiaries. A timber dividend of Rs 4.58 crore was distributed to more than 26,400 beneficiaries linked to 56 joint forest management committees.
Yadav also performed the bhoomi pujan for 18 development works in Khandwa district, valued at about Rs 143 crore. The projects include school buildings and hostels, a sports complex at Khalwa, and three community and cultural buildings.
The next implementation milestones for the Karwani project, including its detailed scope, construction schedule, funding arrangements and irrigation coverage, were not specified in the announcement.
