Bhubaneswar: For development of nine mineral bearing districts, the state government Wednesday sanctioned 11 projects estimated to be around Rs 3,540 crore.
Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi gave nod to these projects while presiding over the board of directors meeting of Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation (OMBADC).
The nine districts covered under OMBDAC are Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Rayagada and Sundargarh.
CEO of the corporation Uma Nanduri said a flyover project worth Rs 229.71 crore near Joda town was also sanctioned at the meeting. A target has been set to complete the project within a period of three years from the date of commencement of the work.
The other projects sanctioned in the meeting include mega piped water supply projects for rural areas in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Koraput and Jajpur districts; drinking water supply project for urban centres of Mayurbhanj and Koraput, livelihood promotion activities through SHGs in all the nine districts, livelihood promotion through fishery; strengthening of integrated child development scheme (ICDS); integrated watershed management project; water conservation and improvement of ground water recharge projects and afforestation, renovation of urban water bodies and solid waste management in areas under urban local bodies.
During the meeting, Padhi directed the Housing & Urban Development (H&UD) department to take up appropriate projects for improving the quality of living in Joda and Barbil towns of Keonjhar district.
Officials were asked to undertake livelihood programmes under OMBADC for mineral bearing areas in convergence with Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM). The Board decided to take up additional drinking water projects for urban areas in the mineral bearing districts.
Women & Child Development (W&CD) department was asked to formulate innovative programmes for improving the nutritional status of the children and reducing the IMR in mineral bearing areas.
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) and public health units in Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts were asked to conduct iron content test of both the deep and surface drinking water sources on regular basis.
The Chief Secretary further directed the departments concerned to monitor the water quality regularly in mining areas and take up necessary preventive steps.
Earlier, projects worth Rs 1,000 crore have been sanctioned under OMBADC for the development of the districts. So, now the total amount of money sanctioned for these districts from OMBADC comes out to be around Rs 4,540 crore.
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