PATNA, April 19 -- The water resources department (WRD) has chalked out a plan to make around 225,000 hectares of land in the sugarcane belt in north Bihar free of water logging for higher production of cane. The plan, costing Rs.291.73 crore, will seek to address waterlogging, desiltation, and rejuvenation of the river called "dead Bagmati," said WRD officials. The plan, according to officials, will comprise 318 projects and cover the districts like West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Samastipur and Begusarai in north Bihar. Under the new initiative, 124 projects have been identified in West Champaran, 40 in East Champaran, 87 in Gopalganj, 46 in Siwan and 11 in Saran. Apart from these, 10 projects each related to cleaning of drains in Samastipur, Begusarai and Khagaria have also been identified, officials said. WRD officials said that several meetings involving field officers and sugarcane mill owners took place in recent months to finalise blueprint of the project to find a solution to the waterlogging problem. Principal secretary, WRD Santosh Kumar Mall, told HT that once implemented, the plan will not only address the problem of waterlogging but also lead to higher yield of sugarcane, which is one of the state's cash crops, with thousands engaged in production. "We have envisaged this project as a ground breaking initiative in consultation with sugarcane mill owners and their top officials over the last few months so that the perennial problem of waterlogging is addressed. Waterlogging in sugarcane cultivation areas is a major source of crop losses and once these projects are completed, there would be higher production of cane. It would boost the sugarcane sector in a big way in Bihar," Mall said. "Work on the projects mainly related to cleaning of drains, desiltation of water channels and drainage-related work will start soon and will be intensified in the next two months before the onset of the monsoon season. The projects would be completed based on priority for the areas most affected by monsoon rains more at the village level based on survey reports," said a senior WRD official. He said that the projects have been sanctioned and fund allocation is underway. More importantly, the WRD officials said that the ambitious project would also include the rejuvenation of the "dead Bagmati" river. "There is a proposal to rejuvenate the dead river through desiltation as it would help address the waterlogging in sugarcane producing districts," said an official....