Dhar — Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday inaugurated the Rs 1,353.18-crore Dahi Micro Lift Irrigation Project at Dahi in Dhar district, during the state-level Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas programme marking the 151st birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda. The project is expected to provide irrigation to around 47,000 hectares across 126 villages in Dhar and Alirajpur districts, benefiting approximately 1.26 lakh farmers.

Source: The Indian Tribal

Of the 126 villages, 84 are in Dhar district and 42 in Alirajpur district, both tribal-dominated districts in western Madhya Pradesh where farmland sits on undulating terrain that gravity-fed canals cannot easily reach. The micro lift scheme mechanically raises Narmada river water to elevated fields, with a planned lift of 166.51 million cubic metres of water, according to the state government details shared ahead of the programme.

Source: Nation Press

Government details said the project, built by the Narmada Valley Development Authority at a cost of about Rs 1,353.18 crore, will provide micro-irrigation in the Rabi season, including about 13,180 hectares in the Kukshi tehsil area and 15,895 hectares in the Dahi tehsil area of Dhar district, and that testing work on the project is currently going on.

Source: TezzBuzz / MP government programme details

The inauguration was part of a wider Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas development push. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the national programme virtually on Sunday. How quickly the pumping and distribution network becomes fully operational, and how much land actually comes under irrigation in the first full cropping season, will be the real test of the project, farmers and officials say.

Source: The Indian Tribal