Parliament Question: Upper Indravati Project

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1964 ANSWERED ON 30.07.2026 UPPER INDRAVATI PROJECT

1964. Shri SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that Nabarangpur district of Odisha has remained largely deprived of irrigation benefits despite contributing substantially to the Upper Indravati Project and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the original Detailed Project Report (DPR), the 1975 Indravati Water Agreement and World Bank-assisted project documents envisaged irrigation, downstream water utilisation or the other benefits for Nabarangpur and Koraput districts and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the prescribed minimum downstream release of seven cumecs of water is being maintained and monitored and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government has received any proposal from the State Government of Odisha for providing irrigation to Nabarangpur by utilising Upper Indravati waters and if so, the details and the status thereof; and

(e) the Central assistance sanctioned during the last ten years for such irrigation projects and the steps proposed to be taken to ensure equitable distribution of irrigation benefits? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) 1(a) Water, being State subject, irrigation projects are planned, funded, executed and maintained by the State Governments themselves as per their own resources and priorities.

As per information provided by the Government of Odisha, out of the 1.85 lakh hectares of available cultivable area in the Nabarangpur district, an irrigation potential of approx. 1.26 lakh hectares has been created upto March 2026. Government of Odisha is implementing various irrigation projects in the Nabarangpur district. These include Turi-Guntat Irrigation Project to irrigate about 9135 hectares, two Mega Lift clusters to create an irrigation potential of 19247 hectares and four Low Height Storage Structures (LHSS) with a total potential ayacut of 2000 hectares.

(b) As informed by the Government of Odisha, the original Detailed Project Report, the 1975 Indravati Water Agreement and World Bank assisted project documents envisaged irrigation development and downstream water utilisation benefit for Koraput & Nabarangpur districts. The State Government has taken up schemes like Mega Lift, CAPEX etc. in accordance with these provisions.

(c) As informed by the Government of Odisha, the prescribed minimum downstream release of seven cumecs of water is being maintained and monitored.

(d) A proposal for the Nabarangpur Irrigation Project was received by the Central Water Commission (CWC) for technical examination. Following its initial examination, the CWC requested the Government of Odisha to furnish a No objection Certificate

(NoC) from the Government of Chhattisgarh. However, as requisite NoC was not received, the project proposal was returned to the Government of Odisha on

31.01.2024.

(e) Eight (08) major & medium irrigation projects in Odisha, including the Upper Indravati project, were included under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP) with total central assistance of Rs. 1442.85 crore. Central assistance amounting to Rs. 1208.86 crore has been released to these projects during the last 10 years, out of which Rs. 18 crore was

provided to the Upper Indravati project. ***** 2