The Hindu Business Line : Micro irrigation firms seek component price revision

THE Micro Irrigation Companies Committee of the Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP-MICC), comprising all the 15 short-listed companies for implementing the micro irrigation projects in the State, has appealed to the Government to consider revising the prices of components in view of steep hike in raw material prices.

Addressing newspersons here on Thursday, the Committee Chairman, Mr Anilkumar Kataria, who is also the President (Marketing) of Jain Irrigation Systems, said raw material prices went up by around 45 per cent after the State Government fixed the prices of components earlier.

The steep hike in crude oil prices impacted the cost of plastic material, which forms major part in micro irrigation components.

The hike in prices of steel, diesel and installation needs to be considered for revising the prices of components.

The Committee has asked the Government to consider a revision of 5 to 7 per cent, Mr Kataria said.

The member companies of the Committee have so far executed micro irrigation projects worth around Rs 300 crore in Andhra Pradesh, covering about one-lakh hectares involving around 80,000 farmers. The APMIP is being considered the mega project ever taken up by any State Government in the country.

According to the Committee Secretary, Mr M. Muthyam Reddy, the micro irrigation projects for their effective implementation need the active support and participation of various Government departments such as agriculture, sericulture and sugarcane. Stating that this was lacking to a large extent at present, he said regular reviews of District Collectors as well as all departments concerned, including bankers, would give the required boost to the micro irrigation in the State.

The Committee has also urged the State Government to make micro irrigation compulsory for all the lift irrigation schemes and also bring all gall crops under the purview of micro irrigation.

The Committee also viewed that the success of the micro irrigation project depends on the extension services and agronomy services, which needs to be extended further.

While welcoming the Government's decision to hike the subsidy on micro irrigation to 60 per cent from the existing 50 per cent, the Committee has appealed to the Government to amend the definition of `beneficiary' in the micro irrigation scheme.

Stating that the prime objective of the project was water saving and yield increase, the Committee submitted to the Government that the subsidy at present is restricted to a family, whereas it should be as per the individual land holder subject to Rs 50,000 per beneficiary.

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