§ MR. SAMUEL SMITHI beg to ask the Secretary of State for India what provision has been made, by the local Governments or otherwise, for conserving and extending the water supply in Guzerat, the Central Provinces, and the Deccan, since the investigations made four years ago by the Scott-Moncrieff Commission in those districts.
†See page 554.
§ MR. BRODRICKThe following is the latest information in my possession:— In Gujerat attention has chiefly been devoted to the inspection and repair of small tanks. The work of restoring 532 of these tanks which were out of repair is in progress. In the northern part of the Deccan a number of minor irrigation works of the nature of masonry works across streams have been inspected and repaired; four small tanks have been constructed, and projects for twelve others are under investigation. In the southern portion of the Deccan the engineering staff is occupied principally in the repair of minor irrigation works. In addition, estimates have been prepared for two larger projects, one to cost forty-one lakhs in the Poona district, and another in Belgaum costing thirty-three lakhs. In the Central Provinces the construction of twelve tanks, the aggregate cost of which is estimated at over twenty-one lakhs, has been sanctioned for protective purposes; in four of the tanks work is already well advanced. A number of minor tanks have been surveyed, and in the past year thirty-six tanks were begun under the grant-in-aid system.