Page 23 - English 01-15 March, 2026
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Pragati Platform | COVER STORY
PROJECT
Saryu Nahar National Project
Completed after 4 decades
Sanction Date Project length: 318 lSince the project's inception, the cost has been
Year 1978 km and linkages: revised 6 times. Delays in work have led to
6,590 km
increased costs for construction materials, labour,
and land acquisition.
Irrigation Inauguration lThe target for completing the project was set in
Target: 1.4M PM Narendra Modi 1982 for 1988-89.
hectares of December 11, 2021
land lIn 2014, when the government, led by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, began work, a review
revealed that 99 major irrigation projects in the
Hurdles Lack of interdepartmental country had been incomplete for decades. The
coordination and lack of proper
Saryu Nahar National Project was among them.
monitoring delayed the project.
lAfter a review of projects pending for decades on
the Pragati Platform, chaired by Prime Minister
If it is government money, then why Narendra Modi, obstacles facing the Saryu Canal
should I care? This thinking had become Project were resolved in a timely manner.
the biggest obstacle in the balanced and lOn December 11, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra
all-round development of the country. Modi inaugurated the Saryu Nahar National
This thinking also kept the Saryu Canal Project from Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh.
project hanging. We have done more work
in the Saryu canal project than what was lThe project will benefit over 2.9 million farmers
in nine districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh:
done in 5 decades in less than 5 years. Our Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda,
priority is to complete the project on time. Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar,
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Gorakhpur, and Maharajganj.
lThe project was initiated at a cost of less
than ₹100 crore. By the time the project was
completed, its cost had increased to more than
Rs 10 thousand crore.
March 1-15, 2026 || NEW INDIA SAMACHAR 21
