Vidarbha's Massive Irrigation Project Backlog: 68 Schemes Incomplete, Costs Balloon to Rs1.42 Lakh Crore
The Maharashtra legislative assembly received a sobering update on Friday regarding the state's irrigation infrastructure in the Vidarbha region. In a written reply, Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan disclosed that out of 82 irrigation projects in Vidarbha—some initiated over a decade ago—a staggering 68 remain incomplete. The revised combined cost for these ongoing projects has escalated dramatically to Rs1.42 lakh crore.
Progress Report Reveals Significant Shortfalls
Minister Mahajan's response, prompted by queries from MLAs Vijay Wadettiwar, Rohit Pawar, Bhaskar Jadhav, and Vishwajeet Kadam, revealed that only 14 projects have been completed to date. The 68 ongoing projects, which have consumed approximately Rs57,000 crore as of March 2025, were originally designed to create irrigation potential for 14.56 lakh hectares of agricultural land.
However, by June 2025, only 7.36 lakh hectares of irrigation capacity had been developed, leaving more than 7.20 lakh hectares—nearly half of the target—yet to be achieved. This represents a substantial deficit in realizing the region's agricultural water security goals.
District-Level Backlog and Specific Project Hurdles
Regarding Vidarbha's total irrigation backlog of 7,84,720 hectares, Mahajan reported that 7,41,185 hectares (94%) had been cleared by June 2025. Nevertheless, Akola and Buldhana districts continue to account for a remaining backlog of 43,535 hectares, indicating localized challenges in project implementation.
Eight projects are facing particularly significant obstacles:
- Three projects—the Human river project in Chandrapur, and the Tultuli and Chenna projects (a tributary of the Godavari river) in Gadchiroli—are awaiting crucial forest clearance approvals.
- The Karwafa project in Gadchiroli and four other schemes have been delayed due to pending land acquisition processes.
Minister Outlines Steps to Address Delays
Mahajan detailed the government's approach to overcoming these hurdles. For the forest clearance issues:
- The proposal for the Human river major project has been submitted to the forest department.
- The proposal for the Chenna project is currently being prepared.
- The Tultuli project's forest proposal was rejected, necessitating re-planning at the field level.
For projects stalled due to land acquisition, authorities are pursuing gram panchayat resolutions and alternative land acquisition processes to expedite progress.
Notably absent from the minister's reply were project-wise cost breakdowns and individual completion timelines, leaving questions about transparency and accountability in the massive infrastructure undertaking. The revelation underscores the complex challenges facing irrigation development in Maharashtra's crucial agricultural region, with billions invested yet significant targets remaining unmet.
