The National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) will help the Rajasthan Government revamp the half-century-old Chambal canal system which caters to the irrigation needs of the Hadauti districts of Kota, Bundi and Baran. The Hadauti region is known for its grain and cereal production including export quality Bundi rice, thanks to its comparatively better water availability. The fund for the revamp of the canal system forms part of a total loan assistance of Rs.1,833 crore from NABARD to Rajasthan under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF-XVIII) and the NABARD Development Assistance (NIDA) in the current financial year. The other major projects include two roads -- Alwar-Behror-Narnul Road and Jaipur-Nagaur Road -- rural village roads and major district roads. “It took only four months for NABARD to sanction Rs.1518 crore under the RIDF to the State. The Rajasthan Government had submitted its proposals in April and the funds have been sanctioned in a record time,” said Jiji Mammen, Chief General Manager, Rajasthan Regional Office, talking to media persons here. NABARD also would assist Rajasthan by providing Rs.250 crore as loans to build warehouses through NABCONS, with the support of the newly created Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority, he said. Mr. Mammen said Rs.158.57 crore has been sanctioned to the Department of Command Area Development for revival of the Chambal canal, built during the first and second Five Year Plan periods (1953-60). “At present there are leakages in the canal system. Under Phase I of the revamp programme, the lining of the right main canal (RMC) and left main canal (LMC) would be taken up,” he added. The right main canal is 253.38 km long and the left main canal 139.41 km long, inclusive of branches and distributaries. “The existing structures will be reconstructed and modernised. Non-recurrent employment of 47 lakh man-days is expected during the execution period of the revamp project. A total of 22,900 hectares of land would benefit from the project,” Mr. Mammen said. The major road projects have received a sanction of Rs.315.50 crore while the district and village road projects together have been sanctioned Rs.829.58 crore. Out of this, Rs.600 crore is for development of 1,337 link roads in various districts covering a length of 2,127.49 km. The proposed village roads, on an average, have a length of 1.5-2 km and they connect villages with a population up to 250. The project for major district roads, with a financial outlay of Rs.229.41 crore, envisages the widening and strengthening of 71 major district roads covering a total length of 793.72 km.