Now Reading: World Bank okays Rs 5,714-crore water project for Haryana
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World Bank okays Rs 5,714-crore water project for Haryana
The World Bank has approved a Rs 5,714-crore 'Water Secure Haryana Programme', with Rs 4,000 crore as a loan and the rest funded by the state. Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said…
The Story in Brief
The World Bank has approved a Rs 5,714-crore 'Water Secure Haryana Programme', with Rs 4,000 crore as a loan and the rest funded by the state. Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said 15 clusters covering 48.9 lakh acres will be developed over six years from 2026 to 2032. The programme includes rehabilitating 104 canals at a cost of Rs 2,484 crore, 620 watercourses, 120 canal-based micro-irrigation projects, and reclaiming two lakh acres of waterlogged land.
The state plans to promote direct seeded rice over five lakh acres and crop diversification on 1.12 lakh acres to cut water use. The World Bank assistance targets integrated water resources management, groundwater recharge, and sustainable agriculture, Saini said at a review meeting.
The Indian Opinion
The World Bank loan is welcome, but Haryana's water crisis is too deep for a single project to fix. The real test will be whether the state can enforce crop diversification and direct seeded rice on the ground, where powerful farm lobbies resist change. Watch how much water the canal rehabilitation actually saves versus what the promise sheet says.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
