The Saurashtra-Narmada Avataran Irrigation Yojana or SAUNI Yojana has been launched to divert one million acre-feet of flood waters from Narmada to the Saurashtra region

Under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 3,245 crore for irrigation and rural drinking water supply projects in Gujarat for 2021-22.

“This is the highest allocation for loan assistance to projects in the state,” said a senior NABARD official. Compared to the Rs 2,989 crore sanctioned in 2020’21, the sanctioned amount under RIDF for 2021-22 was 8.5 per cent more.

The irrigation projects to receive sanction for 2021-22 are two packages of SAUNT Link 3 projects worth Rs 336 crore. The Saurashtra-Narmada Avataran Irrigation Yojana or SAUNI Yojana has been launched to divert one million acre-feet of flood waters from Narmada to the Saurashtra region.

The Link 3 of SAUNI will connect 28 reservoirs of Rajkot, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Morbi and Surendranagar with a 66-kilometre water project.

The other irrigation projects to receive sanction include a Rs 194-crore lift irrigation project in the tribal district of Dahod, Rs 273 crore Panam reservoir based lift irrigation scheme, Rs 114 crore Panam high-level canal-based lift irrigation scheme and Rs 231 crore Vaghrech recharge project. These irrigation projects will increase the irrigation facilities by 75,112 hectares.