Number of micro irrigation schemes increased by 1.42 million between 2013-14 and 2017-18
micro irrigation schemes between 2013-14 and 2017-18, according to latest official census data released on Saturday. The sixth census of minor irrigation (MI) schemes showed that the number of both groundwater and surface water schemes have increased at the national level.
Out of 23.14 million MI schemes examined, 21.93 million (94.8 per cent) constitute groundwater schemes, while 1.21 million (5.2 per cent) are classified as Surface Water Schemes.
This underscores the substantial reliance on groundwater resources for irrigation needs.
There has been a delay in release of the 6th census due to COVID-19 and work on the 7th census has already been started, a senior official said.
The census data revealed that Uttar Pradesh claims the largest share of MI schemes, closely trailed by Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
Defined as structures within either groundwater or surface water categories with a Culturable Command Area (CCA) up to 2,000 hectares, these minor irrigation schemes have surged by about 1.42 million, according to the latest census.
The sixth census records a total of 23.1 million schemes compared to 21.7 million in the fifth census, signifying a 6.9 per cent increase in groundwater schemes and 1.2 per cent in surface water schemes at the national level.
The census differentiates between groundwater and surface water categories, including dug wells, shallow, medium, and deep tube wells.
