National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned Rs 257 crore to the Orissa government under the 14th tranche of the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for 2008-09 at the bank’s meeting held on November 29.
Taking into account the earlier sanctioned amount of Rs 414 crore, the cumulative sanctioned amount by Nabard for the Orissa government under the 14th tranche of RIDF now stands at Rs 681 crore.
The amount has been sanctioned by Nabard to take up construction of 73 minor irrigation projects, three flood control projects, six drainage projects, 25 roads and bridges as well as nine fish/passenger jetties. All these projects which will be implemented in 25 districts of Orissa are expected to be commissioned by 2011. Nabard’s sanctioned amount will be used for developing a road network of 185 km and also for building bridges measuring 2,438 metres in rural areas.
These projects will benefit 1,193 villages by connecting 162 marketing centres, 26 tourist spots and 36 pilgrimage centres. These projects are also expected to generate non-recurring employment of 198 lakh mandays. Since its inception, Nabard has sanctioned Rs 3,931 crore to the Orissa government under sectors like irrigation, rural connectivity, animal husbandry, infrastructure development and drinking water supply system.
