Agricultural road map focuses on road, green, power

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar in a bid to fulfill his promise of drastically improving the power scenario before 2015 assembly polls and making Bihar a ‘green state’, got two components incorporated — power and tree plantation — in the second agriculture road map, which will be formally unveiled by President Pranab Mukherjee here on Wednesday.
During several rounds of meetings held for finalising the second road map, the CM had asked officials concerned to add as many components as possible which directly or indirectly affect the agriculture sector.The need for a separate power feeder for setting up tubewells was felt during these meetings and the same incorporated in the road map.
As per the road map, a copy of which is with TOI, the state government will set up a separate feeder for operating tubewells with electricity within 10 years. This will help curb the use of diesel in agriculture sector.
Under the Hariyali Mission, 24 crore trees will be planted in the next five years to increase the forest cover of the state from 9% to 15%. 'Vriksha Palaks', who will be selected from the weaker section of society, will look after the trees and, in return, get the benefits of the tree produce.
The road map also talks about inter-linking of rivers and irrigation through surface water, in which water will be shifted from one river basin to another.
The state government has also decided to complete the process of consolidation of land holdings in the next five years. In the next three years, a survey will be conducted covering the entire agricultural land of the state and a map prepared with the help of photographs taken from an aircraft for the consolidation purpose.
"Last year, we had a record production of food grains, which was more than the national average. If it continues, we will have a major storage problem. Keeping this in mind, the road map has fixed a target of 65 lakh tonnes storage capacity in five years, which will be extended up to 82 lakh tonnes in the next 10 years,” said deputy director, agriculture (information), AC Jain.
The road map has also fixed a target for cold storage capacity. At present, cold storages have the capacity of 11 lakh tonnes, which will be extended up to 75 lakh tonnes in five years and 100 lakh tonnes in the next 10 years.
The state government has also made an elaborate plan to help farmers shift from chemical fertilizers to green fertilizers. Provision has been made for distribution of green fertilizer, vermi compost and bio-fertilizer for five years, aimed so as to lessen the use of chemicals in agriculture without affecting production.
The entire road map involves an expenditure of Rs 1,52,511 crore, said Jain. "The government has formed a resource management group under the leadership of chief secretary, which will take recourse to various Central schemes, Nabard and other agencies to generate necessary fund," he added.
The road map also mentions that villages with a population of over 250 will be connected with pucca roads.