Gandhinagar: Considering the seriousness of the water problem for irrigation of 3 years of ‘no source villages’ of Nalkantha, it has been decided to include these villages in the irrigated area of Narmada scheme. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recommended the state government to take appropriate steps for immediate resolution of this problem, taking into account the long-standing representation of the farmers of the Nalkantha villages, following which the state chief secretary Pankaj Kumar held a meeting of the top officials of the Water Resources Department and the Narmada Corporation. Accordingly, after this meeting, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has decided to include all these ‘no source villages’ of Nalakantha in the irrigated area of Narmada scheme.
As a result of this decision, now 1700 farmers of 11 villages deprived of irrigation of Nalkantha will get Narmada water for irrigation of 9415 hectares of land. The state government has recently decided to include 111 villages in the irrigated area of Fatewadi-Kharikat schemes in the irrigated area of Narmada scheme. 21 villages of Nalkantha have also been included in these 111 villages. Out of the total 3 villages of Nalkantha, 11 villages which were excluded from the irrigated area have also been decided to be included in the irrigated area of Narmada scheme.