The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today chaired a high level meeting on the drought and water scarcity situation in parts of Odisha. The Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik, was present in the meeting. Senior officials from the Government of India, and the State of Odisha, were also present.
An amount of Rs. 600.52 crore has been released to the State under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after adjustments of the State balances. This is in addition to Rs 560.25 crore released as central share of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 2015-16 to the State. A further amount of Rs. 294.375 crore has been released as first instalment of SDRF for 2016-17.
As part of water conservation efforts, the State has constructed 25000 farm ponds, 7000 check dams, 4000 diversion weirs, 4000 percolation tanks, 400 water harvesting structures and 350 community tanks.
The Chief Minister stated that Odisha has completed District Irrigation Plans for all 30 districts, as required under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY). He emphasized the State’s commitment to implement the Scheme expeditiously.
Progress in other agriculture schemes, piped water supply, and banking extension facilities in rural areas came up for discussion.
The meeting ended with a resolve on the part of the Centre and State to work together.
