Bhubaneswar: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned RIDF assistance of Rs.803 Crore to the Odisha Government under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
These include Rs.471 Crore for construction of 200 Rural Bridges in 27 districts, Rs.32 Crore for construction of 6 Flood Protection Projects in 4 districts, and Rs.300 Crore Construction of Kusumi Irrigation Project in Nayagarh District of the State.
The bridge projects with a combined length of 7439.10 km will improve rural connectivity for 14.21 lakh people in 1291 villages, while the flood projects will benefit 1 lakh, people of 67 villages, by providing protection from inundation. KusumiIrrgation Project will provide assured irrigation to 3745 hectares in 49 villages, thereby benefitting 15 lakh people.
This sanction is on the line of priority fixed by the State Government for developing critical rural infrastructure for Irrigation, Rural Connectivity (Road and Bridge), and Flood Protection. With this sanction, the cumulative sanction under RIDF XXVII (2021-22) reached a level of Rs.2781 crore, according to the NABARD.
These infrastructure projects will play a key role in supporting the rural economy.