Centre Releases Rs 600.52 Cr Drought Assistance To Odisha

NEW DELHI: The central government on Saturday released an amount of Rs. 600.52 crore drought assistance to Odisha under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after adjustments of the state balances.

The assistance is in addition to Rs 560.25 crore released as the 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 the first instalment of SDRF for 2016-17.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting on the drought and water scarcity situation in parts of Odisha attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

As part of water conservation efforts, the state has constructed 25000 farm ponds, 7000 check dams, 4000 diversion weirs, 4000 percolation tanks, 400 water harvesting structures and 350 community tanks.

The Chief Minister said Odisha has completed District Irrigation Plans for all 30 districts, as required under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).