MP ryots not getting irrigation water: Cong

Bhopal, Mar 12 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh's main opposition Congress today arraigned the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Bharatiya Janata Party regime in the Assembly for its failure to create a sufficient irrigation network.

Participating in a debate on budgetary demands of the Water Resources Department, senior Congress member Harvansh Singh questioned the propriety of placing ''corrupt'' engineers in charge of prestigious projects. Even those facing Lokayukta inquiry in several cases were given charge of Chief Engineer, he alleged.

Many projects in Seoni district remained incomplete and even sufficient water available in reservoirs and other water bodies could not be provided to farms in the absence of a distribution network.

Bawanthadi -- an interstate project -- was unlikely to be completed by next year as estimated earlier due to tardy progress, he said, adding that about 30 to 40 per cent of the budgetary provision was spent upto February and the remaining fund spent in March alone.

Mr Singh lamented that only Rs 20 crore were provided for ayacut development and sought that it be raised to at least Rs 50 crore.

Referring to an incident that took place in Seoni district in January, Mr Singh alleged that a Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian misbehaved with him at a function he attended at the invitation of the Bainganga project's Chief Engineer and a case was registered. Mr Singh said that he was a MLA for 14 years and such behaviour was never expected.

''Dignity should be maintained in public life,'' he added.

UNI SP AC 1712