Rs 543 cr sanctioned for water supply projects in Odisha’s Nuapada

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 22:

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 543. 63 crore assistance for mega drinking water supply projects in fluoride contaminated areas of Odisha’s Nuapada district.

The projects would provide for 100 litres water per capita per day to 1.20 lakh families in the fluoride-affected blocks of Sinapali, Boden, Khariar, Komna and Nuapada.

Project Sanctioning Committee of NABARD, which met last week, gave its approval for the mega drinking water supply project. The project is likely to cover nearly 500 villages, including 414 villages, having no piped water supply.

NABARD has also released another Rs 543.63 crore for lift irrigation projects in the state, taking the total amount of sanctions to Rs 1845.70 crore. Notably, it had released Rs 1134.74 crore recently in a project review meeting that had a special allocation of Rs 1040.96 crore for drinking water and lift irrigation projects.

Of the Rs 1040.96 crore sanctioned, Rs 497.33 crore will be allocated for lift irrigation projects of the state. NABARD plans to get 19 lift irrigation projects built in the backward districts of the state such as Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir and Jharsuguda that would cover about 24,000 hectares of land.

The new irrigation projects would implement latest technologies and use underground piping to prevent water vaporization. The projects would enable local farmers to grow Kharif crops apart from the regular Rabi ones.

Besides, the bank has sanctioned funds for construction of seven roads and a bridge in districts such as Koraput, Nuapada, Ganjam and Sambalpur.