NEW DELHI: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Thursday, January 21, awarded the soil conservation department of Punjab with the ‘Most Consistent Performing Department’ and the ‘Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF)-21 Most Impactful Projects’ awards. Dharminder Sharma, Chief Conservator of Soil, Punjab, accepted the award on behalf of the department from Manpreet Singh Badal, Minister of Finance, Government of Punjab, at a ceremony organized by NABARD.
The Department of Soil and Water Conservation has installed various projects to provide assured irrigation water to waterlogged areas in south-western Punjab sanctioned under RIDF 21. The aim of the project was to improve the agriculture production system by rejuvenating the seasonal and permanent waterlogged areas in the worst affected south-western districts of Muktsar, Fazilka and Ferozepur. These projects have helped in providing assured irrigation which helped in reviving the yield and quality of the produce. The project costing Rs 60 crore was approved by NABARD in 2015-16 and is likely to be completed by June 2021.
The project has revived the waterlogged areas to the tune of 7,552 hectare and has improved the quality and yield of the farm produce by 25 per cent to 50 per cent. NABARD said that it has projected a credit requirement of Rs 2.5 lakh crore for the state in 2021-22.