The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to provide Rs 150 crore additional loan assistance to the Orissa government for completion of the Rengali Left Bank Canal (RLBC).
A fact finding team of JICA, which is on a visit to the state, assured the state government to take up the matter with the Japan government for expeditious sanction of the loan. Earlier, the Orissa government had sent the proposal to the Union government and the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) had posed it for JICA assistance. “We will take up the matter with the government of Japan for early consideration on the loan proposal”, Mitsuaki Suzuki, assistant director, JICA, told the media persons after the meeting. JICA has already sanctioned Rs 474 crore for the project. Though the work on this canal started way back in 1994, the pace has been very slow. Out of the total length of 141 km, the work on 71 km could be completed with Rs 150 crore assistance from the lending bank. While 71 km canal could provide irrigation facilities to 29,000 hectares, the work has been completed only on a portion of it which can irrigate 16,000 hectares.
The project was expected to irrigate 1,14,000 hectares when fully completed. The JICA team has made field visits and reviewed the progress of the work, sources added.
