The question was very carefully examined by the Irrigation and Power Ministry and the Planning Commission. The Irrigation and Power Ministry, which is in administrative charge of the major and medium irrigation schemes, found that the failure to utilise the irrigation potential was due either to the failure to construct main channles for field channels or the lack of incentive for the cultivators to change over from dry to wet farming or for want of training in proper cropping patterns. Action has been taken to provide conditions for the utilisation of this potential and the Planning Commissions has agreed to divert some thirty or so Crores of rupees during the rest of the Plan period for the fuller utilisation of this irrigation potential. In the Community Development areas, the Community Development Ministry has been made responsible for the construction of the State government have been charged with the responsibility for utilizing this potential. In fact, I feel very unhappy that this potential should not have been properly utilised. Now, so far as minor irrigation works are concerned, they have done well and during the first two years, they have fulfilled their targets. Community Development Blocks and the shadow Blocks a nucleus seed farm of 25 acres will set up. This will produce foundation seed. The foundation seed will have to pass through the registered growers in the first year as well as in the second year. Fertilisers have played a very important role in agricultural production all over the world. Our consumption of fertilisers is very small compared to the progressive countries, it is very low compared to Japan; it is very low compared to china and it is very low compared to the United fertilisers extent. I would like to warn the government that if anything happens in the future in which industrial production or production in the private sector has not gone up.
