UP sets up sub-committee on irrigation

Lucknow, Sep 29 (UNI) To help farmers during the ongoing Kharif season, the Uttar Pradesh government today constituted a cabinet sub-committee to ensure proper utilisation of available irrigation resources.

The decision to set up the sub-committee was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Sources said state PWD minister Shivpal Singh Yadav will head the sub-committee. Other ministers in the sub-committee include Animal Husbandary minister Virendra Singh and Agriculture minister Ashok Bajpai. Heads of various departments, including Agriculture Production Commissioner Anis Ansari will also be its part.

The proposed sub-committee will look into the ways to ensure that water reaches the canal tails. Such steps would include de-silting of canals, provision of proper electricity supply to over 28,000 government tubewells and private tubewells.

The sub-committee would also find ways to ensure operational roostering of canals. UP has witnessed a shortfall in both Rabi and Kharif crop in the recent past due to scanty rainfall.

In another important decision, the cabinet approved provision of 'samadhan yojna' (solution scheme) as a substitute of trade tax on bullion trading for the period April 2006 to March 2007. The scheme would help the government generate revenue of Rs 12 crore. At present, the state revenue from bullion trade is estimated at Rs 2.75 crore.

The cabinet also approved the method of accural accounting for the finance department. The service rules of the accounts services of UP Co-operative department were also approved by the cabinet.

The state cabinet also gave a go-ahead to delegation of power under Section 154 of the UP Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950 to enable land use by private builders for creating housing infrastructure.

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