SHILLONG:
Minister-in-charge Water Resources, Brolding Nongsiej, on March 14, said that Rs 2,468.98 lakh has been spent to expand irrigated areas in the Ri Bhoi district from 2018 to 2022.
Responding to All-India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MLA, Umroi, George N Lyngdoh’s query in the Assembly regarding the amount spent in this regard, Nongsiej said, “Of the said amount, Rs 772.029 lakh was spent during 2018-19; Rs 1,038. 649 lakh in 2019-20; Rs 91.826 lakh in 2020-21 and Rs 566.476 lakh in 2021-22.”
Notably, the full amount was spent for 2018-19. Out of Rs 1086.674 lakh in 2019-20, Rs 1,038.649 was spent and of Rs 500.00 lakh in 2020-21, Rs 91.826 lakh was spent. For the financial year in 2021-22, Rs 456.00 lakh was received -in this case, Rs 566.476 lakh was spent.
Nongsiej further informed that the total number of projects taken up under the department during 2018-22 stands at 69. Of this, 40 were undertaken in 2018-19, 1 in 2019-20, 12 in 2020-21 and 16 in 2021-22.
The targeted irrigated areas during 2018-19 is 512.35 hectares, in 2019-20 130.99 hectares were irrigated, while 50.20 hectares got water in 2020-21, and 1091.46 hectares were taken up in 2021-22.
The total area irrigated during 2018-19 is 478.00 hectares, in 2019-20, 128.00 hectares, in 2020-21, 50.20 hectares and 892.30 hectares in 2021-22.