NABARD has sanctioned an assistance of Rs 388 crore for Odisha under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for setting up four mega piped drinking water supply projects.
The sanctioned amount would also be used for construction or up-gradation of 20 village roads across 15 districts in the state, an official statement said.
The four mega projects will come up in Koraput district (covering Boipariguda block), Balasore district (covering Nilgiri block), and Malkangiri district (covering Malkangiri and Kalimela blocks).
Also Read
These projects are intended to provide 70 LPCD (litre per capita per day) clean, safe, hygienic potable drinking water at the consumer end through a functional household tap connection (FHTC) with eight hours of supply in the project area.
On completion, these projects are expected to provide clean and safe drinking water to 2.57 lakh rural people in 467 villages and achieve the goal of supplying drinking water in the state, by 2022.
Further, the road projects are expected to improve the livelihood of 1.52 lakh people in 162 villages, the statement said.
During the current financial year, many critical rural infrastructure projects under drinking water, irrigation, and rural connectivity (road and bridge) are being planned to be supported under RIDF-XXVII.
The cumulative sanction under RIDF for the current year and sanction since the inception of RIDF stands at Rs 691 crore and Rs 28,732 crore respectively, it said.
The state government accords top priority to mega piped water supply projects in the state, followed by projects under irrigation and rural connectivity.
This infrastructure support under RIDF will play a key role in supporting the rural economy by improving the livelihood of millions of people in the rural economy, the statement said.