Patna: The Bihar government is intensifying efforts to conserve water and enhance irrigation facilities across the state, Minister for Minor Water Resources Santosh Kumar Suman said on Monday. Addressing a press conference at the Samvad Auditorium of Information Bhawan, Suman outlined the department’s achievements and future plans, emphasising the government’s commitment to ensuring irrigation water reaches every farm.
Suman highlighted that 74% of Bihar’s population resides in rural areas and depends on agriculture, making irrigation a critical priority. The government launched the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Yojana in 2019 under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership to combat the water crisis and conserve groundwater. A target has been set to provide irrigation water to all agricultural land by 2025.
So far, 2,217 schemes under the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Abhiyan and 765 projects under the Har Khet Sinchai Ka Pani (Irrigation Water to Every Farm) programme have been completed. The Minor Water Resources Department oversees projects with command areas of up to 2,000 hectares, implementing both surface and groundwater irrigation schemes.
Expanding Irrigation Infrastructure
Under the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Abhiyan, the government has focused on renovating and constructing water bodies, including Ahar-Pain structures, ponds, and check dams. To expand irrigation in non-irrigated areas, the Har Khet Sinchai Ka Pani programme has been undertaking weir and check-dam construction, lift irrigation schemes, and the Chief Minister Private Tubewell Scheme.
For the financial year 2024-25, the department has been allocated Rs 1,026.87 crore for implementing these initiatives.
Key Achievements
Under the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Campaign, the Bihar government has completed 2,217 projects out of 2,377 approved, with a total investment of Rs 2,339.86 crore up to the financial year 2023-24. These projects have restored 228,225 hectares of irrigation capacity and 993 million cubic metres of water storage capacity. For the 2024-25 financial year, 139 new projects worth Rs 260.3 crore have been approved, aiming to restore irrigation capacity of 25,822 hectares by June 2025.
Under the Irrigation Water to Every Farm Programme, 765 out of 981 approved projects have been completed, with an estimated cost of Rs 1,139.4 crore up to 2023-24. These initiatives have restored irrigation capacity of 112,086 hectares. In the 2024-25 financial year, 1,516 new projects worth Rs 2,331.79 crore have been approved, targeting a restoration of 187,195 hectares of irrigation capacity.
The Chief Minister Private Tubewell Scheme aims to irrigate 175,000 hectares by installing 35,000 private tubewells. So far, 10,279 tubewells have been installed, with farmers receiving grants amounting to Rs 33.52 crore.
Upcoming Projects Under the Chief Minister’s Pragati Yatra
Several new irrigation projects announced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during his Pragati Yatra are set to be implemented soon. In Bhagalpur, the construction of the Fatehpur Check Dam has been planned, while Aurangabad will see the development of the Chand Bigha Check Dam. In Gaya, two major projects are in the pipeline—the Lawabar Weir Ahar-Pain scheme and the Bara Dam (Labji River) Check Dam project. Nalanda will witness the restoration of the Bargain Ahar-Pain scheme along with concrete drainage work from Sangat Par of Nursarai to Jalalpur. Additionally, in Kaimur, the cleaning of the Rampur village canal via Rampur Pali has been proposed to improve water flow and irrigation facilities.
