A Normal Life: Micro-Irrigation scheme guidelines in India; Steps required for the subsidies program

Guidelines for the Micro Irrigation (MI) scheme as set up by the Central government of India:

Subsidy of 50% of the cost of the MI system to be provided to the beneficiary.
Subsidy will be split between the Central government – 40% and the State Government – at least 10% while the rest would be paid by the beneficiary.
The maximum area covered is 5 Hectares per family.
At least 25% of the planned allocation for a district has to be small and marginal farmers.
The Panchayati Raj institutions will be involved in the selection of the beneficiaries. They will be represented on the board of the State Micro irrigation committee which will be the arm of the state government in overseeing the scheme.
This scheme covers both Drip and Sprinkler irrigation systems. However, Sprinkler systems will be given due consideration only if drip irrigation systems are found to be uneconomical.
The implementing Agency (IA) will be appointed by the State government while the Central government will release the funds for the scheme as planned. IA will forward action plans through SMIC.
Payment to the farmer/ beneficiary will be in the form of a crossed cheque. The Supplier will be paid by the farmer/ beneficiary.
The Manufacturers will have to register with the State Micro irrigation committee to be allowed to supply equipment to the farmers. Further, the equipment must be BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certified.
The estimated cost of installing drip irrigation systems are as follows. The estimates are as of 2006 in Indian Rupees. This has to be taken as a guideline for installing systems.

These estimates are further split into 3 categories as per existing demand and network. This depends on level of awareness, proximity to manufacturing units, distance in transportation, and cost of drip irrigation systems. The costs would be estimated for the zones as follows.

Category	Estimates	States Covered
A	Cost as mentioned above	Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Maharashtra
B	15% higher than Category A	All others except A & the Himalayan belt states
C	25% higher than Category A	NE States, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand

Scheme covers crops like fruit, vegetables, potato, onion and other tuber crops, spices, medicinal and aromatic plants and all other plantation crops except tea, coffee, rubber and oil palm.
For small farm holdings, a group of farmers would be encouraged to avail the benefits of drip irrigation through a common water source up to a maximum of 5 Ha per grouping.
In case of Inter-cropping, the farmer decides on the crop and therefore the spacing to be used for cost calculations.
Power and Water source requirements as specified by the government have to be met for the subsidy to be sanctioned.
The manufacturers need to register with the state government by paying a fee of INR 50,000 per annum. This fee will be used for promoting micro irrigation schemes in the state.

Installation process guidelines will be as follows:

IA will provide list of suppliers to farmers.
Supplier will assess crop water requirement, prepare a cost estimate and submit that to the IA which will be approved by the IA as per requirements.
Beneficiary will make the payment to the supplier as per the cost estimate decided.
After satisfactory installation of system, the IA will release payment to the beneficiary through a crossed cheque or demand draft.
IA ensures that subsidy is paid within a month from the date of installation of the system.
BIS and other quality assurance officials to make frequent inspection of systems to ensure quality.

Reference: http://agricoop.nic.in

A Normal Life