New Delhi [India]: The Saryu Nahar National Project that was incomplete for four decades has been finished in four years, said Prime Minister Narendra on Friday ahead of his visit to Balrampur for its inauguration on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “You would be shocked to know that work on the Saryu Nahar National Project began in 1978 but for decades, the project was never completed. Costs increased and so did people’s woes. A project that was incomplete for four decades has been finished in four years.” This project will solve irrigation related problems in Eastern UP and help hardworking farmers, PM Modi said. “The swift work on the Saryu Nahar National Project during the last four years is in line with our Government’s commitment to complete long-pending projects and also harness our water resources for the benefit of our farmers and to further promote Ease of Living, he added. As per the Prime Minister’s Office, the work on the project started in 1978 but due to lack of continuity of budgetary support, interdepartmental coordination and adequate monitoring, it got delayed and was not completed even after nearly four decades. “Prime Minister’s vision for farmer welfare and empowerment, and his commitment to prioritising long pending projects of national importance, brought much-needed focus on the project. Consequently, in 2016, the project was brought under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana with the target to complete it in a time-bound manner,” the PMO said. “In this endeavour, innovative solutions were found for new land acquisition to construct new canals and fill the critical gaps in the project, and also for resolving the pending litigation related to the previous land acquisitions. The renewed focus on the project has resulted in the project being completed in only about four years,” it added. The Saryu Nahar National Project has been built at a total cost of more than Rs 9,800 crore, out of which more than Rs 4,600 crore was provisioned in the last four years. The project also involves the interlinking of five rivers– Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini– to ensure optimum usage of water resources of the region. The project will provide assured water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers of over 6,200 villages. It will benefit nine districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh namely – Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj. As per the PMO, the farmers of the region, who were the worst sufferers due to delay in the project, will now benefit from the upgraded irrigation potential. They will now be able to grow crops on a larger scale and maximise the agri-potential of the region.
