PM Modi unveils developmental projects in Karnataka's Yadgiri, says small farmers are biggest priority of agriculture policy

Yadgiri (Karnataka), [India], January 19 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone and dedicated various developmental projects related to irrigation, drinking water and a national highway development project at Kodekal, Yadgiri in Karnataka.
The projects include laying the foundation stone of the Yadgir multi-village drinking water supply scheme under the Jal Jeevan Mission and 65.5 km section (from Badadal to Maradagi S Andola) of Surat-Chennai Expressway NH-150C, and inauguration of the Narayanpur Left Bank Canal - Extension Renovation and Modernisation Project (NLBC-ERM).
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister highlighted the love and support of the people of Karnataka and said that it has become a source of great strength.
He alleged that crores of small farmers were deprived of every comfort for decades and no effort was made in government policies for their long-term welfare.
PM Modi said the small farmer is the biggest priority of the agricultural policy of the country. The Prime Minister gave examples of helping the farmers with machinery, taking them towards modern technology like drones, providing fertilizers like nano urea, encouragement to natural farming, small farmers being given Kisan Credit Cards, and support to animal husbandry, fisheries and beekeeping.
Targetting opposition parties, he alleged that the governments of the past indulged in vote-bank politics and did not pay heed to basic infrastructure like electricity, roadways and water.
Karnataka is slated to go for assembly polls in the first half of this year.
Throwing light on the rich history of Yadgiri, the Prime Minister pointed out the ancient fort of Rattihalli, which is a symbol of the "capabilities of our ancestors and reflects our culture and traditions".
He also mentioned the heritage of the great king Maharaja Venkatappa Nayak whose idea of swaraj and good governance was noted all over the country. "We all take pride in this heritage", the Prime Minister said.
Referring to the projects related to roads and water, the Prime Minister said they will provide massive benefits to the people of the region.
Surat-Chennai Corridor's Karnataka portion saw the start of work today and this will enhance ease of living besides contributing to employment and economic activity in the region including Yadgiri, Raichur and Kalburgi.
The Prime Minister praised the state government for development work in North Karnataka.
He noted that the coming 25 years are 'Amrit Kaal' for the country and for every state.
"We have to create Viksit Bharat during this Amrit Kaal. This can happen only when every person, family and state gets associated with this campaign. India can be developed when the life of the farmer in the field and the entrepreneur is improved. India can be developed when there is good crop, and factory output also expands. This will need learning from the negative experiences and bad policies of the past," he said.
Giving the example of Yadgiri in North Karnataka, the Prime Minister lamented the backwardness that prevailed in the region.
Even though the region had the capability, the Prime Minister observed that the past governments had absolved themselves just by declaring Yadgiri and other such districts as backward.
Highlighting the priorities of the present government, the Prime Minister remarked that its focus is solely on development and not vote-bank politics.
"Even if one district in the country lags behind on the parameters of development, the country cannot become developed," the Prime Minister said.
He said the BJP government addressed the problems concerning most backward regions on priority and initiated the hundred aspirational villages campaign including in Yadgiri.
Referring to emphasis on good governance and development in the region, he said Yadgir has vaccinated 100 percent of children, the number of malnourished children has gone down significantly, all villages of the district are connected via roads and there are common service centres in gram panchayat to provide digital services.
"Be it education, health or connectivity, Yadgiri has been among the top 10 performers of the aspirational districts programme," the Prime Minister remarked.
He underlined the importance of water security for the development of 21st-century India which, he said, stands at par with border, coastal and internal security.
"Double-engine government is working with an approach of felicitation and consolidation," he said and informed that of 99 irrigation schemes that were lying pending in 2014, 50 have already been completed and schemes have been expanded.
Narayanpur Left Bank Canal-Extension Renovation and Modernisation Project (NLBC-ERM) with a canal carrying capacity of 10,000 cusecs can irrigate 4.5 lakh hectares of command area, he said.
PM Modi also talked about the unprecedented focus on micro-irrigation and 'per drop more crop' as more than 70 lakh hectares of land have been brought into the ambit of micro-irrigation in the last seven-eight years.
The project unveiled on Thursday will be beneficial for 5 lakh hectares of land in Karnataka and work is going on to raise the water table, he informed.
The Prime Minister noted that when the Jal Jeevan mission began three-and-a-half years ago, only three crore rural families had piped water connections out of eighteen crore rural families.
"Today that number has gone up to eleven crore rural families. Out of these, 35 lakh families are from Karnataka."
He noted that the coverage of water per household in Yadgiri and Raichur is higher than the overall average of Karnataka and the country.
Throwing light on the projects inaugurated today, the Prime Minister noted that the target of providing tap water to every house in Yadgir will get a boost.
He informed that a study revealed that lives of more than 1.25 lakh children will be saved every year due to the impact of India's Jal Jeevan Mission.
He referred to the benefits of the Har Ghar Jal campaign and noted that the central government gives Rs 6,000 to the farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme and the Karnataka government adds Rs 4,000 more which doubles the benefits for the farmers.
"About 1.25 lakh farmer families of Yadgir have received about Rs 250 crore from PM Kisan Nidhi", the Prime Minister said.
Elaborating on the work done by double-engine government, the Prime Minister said as the Centre launches the New Education Policy, Karnataka Government is helping poor students through Vidya Nidhi schemes.
"Karnataka government augments the Centre's help to weavers under Mudra Scheme by giving them further help," he added.
The Prime Minister lauded the local farmers for making the region a pulse bowl and helping the country in reducing foreign dependence in this area.
He informed that 80 times more pulses have been procured under MSP in the last eight years. Pulse farmers have got Rs 60,000 crore in the last eight years compared to a few hundred crore rupees before 2014.
He said 2023 has been declared the International Year of Millets by the United Nations and noted that coarse cereals like jowar and ragi are produced in abundance in Karnataka.
He underlined that the double-engine government is committed to increasing the production of this nutritious coarse grain and promoting it worldwide.
The Prime Minister expressed the belief that farmers of Karnataka will play a leading role in taking this initiative forward.
Referring to connectivity, he said it is equally important for agriculture, industry and tourism and highlighted the benefits to large parts of North Karnataka with the completion of the Surat-Chennai Economic Corridor.
He said it will also be easy for the countrymen to reach the tourist places and pilgrimages of north Karnataka thereby creating thousands of new employment and self-employment opportunities for the youth.
"The focus of the double-engine government on infrastructure and reforms is turning Karnataka into an investors' choice," the Prime Minister remarked and added that such investments will increase due to enthusiasm of people around the world to invest in India.
Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, state Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai and Union Minister of State Bhagwant Khuba were among those present on the occasion.
Under Yadgir multi-village drinking water supply scheme, a water treatment plant of 117 MLD will be built.
The project, with a cost of more than Rs 2050 crore, will provide potable water to about 2.3 lakh households of more than 700 rural habitations and three towns in the Yadgir district.
NLBC-ERM is a project with a canal carrying capacity of 10,000 cusecs and can irrigate 4.5 lakh hectares of command area.
It will benefit more than three lakh farmers in 560 villages of Kalaburgi, Yadagir and Vijaypur districts. The total cost of the project is about Rs 4700 crore.
The 65.5 km section of NH-150C is a six-lane greenfield road project, a part of the Surat- Chennai Expressway. It is being built at the cost of about Rs 2000 crore.