Odisha to spend Rs 10,000 crore for lift irrigation projects

Bhubaneswar, Sep 8 : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday inaugurated 41 Parvati Giri mega lift irrigation projects, while the government has decided to spend Rs 10,000 crore under the scheme in the next five years.

The 41 projects would help irrigate an additional 50,000 hectares land in nine districts, including Gajapati, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Balangir, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Boudh.

Inaugurating the projects through video conferencing here, the Chief Minister said while the government aims to ensure water irrigation facility in additional 10 lakh hectares cultivated land by 2019, the facility has already been provided in over 7-lakh-hectare land.

He further said the government will spend Rs 10,000 crore in the next five years to include more farmlands in the project.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Narasingh Mishra urged the Chief Minister to take steps to avail of the irrigation facility in more cultivated lands in Bolangir.

The mega lift irrigation project, which was conceptualized in 2011-12, has been named after freedom fighter and social activist Parvati Giri.

--IANS

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Source: IANS