Micro-irrigation to cover one crore acres in Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has underscored the need for increasing the area of land under micro-irrigation to one crore acres in the coming five years.

During a meeting with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of micro irrigation companies at the Interim Government Complex in Velagapudi on Monday, Naidu said his government had set a target to take up micro-irrigation in 8.75 lakh acres of land this year and in 12.50 lakh acres next year.

Explaining the planning by the government for expanding micro-irrigation, the Chief Minister urged the CEOs to work for reducing burden on farmers and conserving water resources by adopting necessary technology.

Stating that 5.62 lakh hectares of land was brought under micro irrigation from 2014, he said the total cultivating area under micro irrigation stood at 41 lakh acres in AP.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS