Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high level meeting on drought and water scarcity situation in parts of Odisha for which an amount of Rs 600.52 crore has been released under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after adjustments of the state balances.
Issues like progress in other agriculture schemes, piped water supply, and banking extension facilities in rural areas also came up for discussion in the meeeting in which Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, senior officials from the government of India and the state were present.
Both the Centre and state resolved to work together in the meeting.
The amount of Rs 600.52 crore released 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, an official release said.
Patnaik said 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.
As part of water conservation efforts, the state has constructed 25,000 farm ponds, 7,000 check dams, 4,000 diversion weirs, 4,000 percolation tanks, 400 water harvesting structures and 350 community tanks.
