Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti today released the first installment of 1500 crore rupees to the states as central assistance for 99 prioritized irrigation projects. <br/><br/>The amount was released under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program. <br/><br/>Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Ms Bharti said, this amount has been released for projects in Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Telangana. She said, total funds required for completion of all the 99 identified projects have been estimated at around 77 thousand crore rupees. <br/><br/>The Minister said, these projects will cover almost all drought prone districts of 18 States of the country and will also go a long way to contain farmer suicides. She expressed hope that with regular monitoring, the government will be able to complete all the projects well ahead of the schedule.