Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government plans to build more than 300 bridge-cum-dams during the current financial year to rejuvenate the ecosystem and improve the ground water level in the State.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra today reviewed the progress of the construction of bridge-cum-dams at a high level meeting held at the Lok Seva Bhawan and directed the officials to speed up this environment friendly process.
The Chief Secretary said that the cost effective bridge cum dams will also help in having multiple micro level outcomes including water conservation and raising water levels in rivers. The water can be used for farming on both sides of the rivers especially for crop diversification to vegetables and cash crops. Also, water for drinking purposed can be drawn from the dams. Once completed, these multi-utility projects would help in green cover and checking soil erosion.
Taking Part in the meeting, Development Commissioner P K Jena said that the bridge cum dam projects will be highly effective in the state as they would not hinder the flow of water in the rivers or creeks. He said the technology has been proved effective and helpful in the context of the geo-climatic conditions of Odisha.
Two Departments of the Odisha Government, Department of Works and the Department of Rural Development are involved in the construction of the dams and 45 such dams have been completed within two months in various districts. Of these, 31 dams were constructed by the Department of Works and 14 were completed by the department of Rural Development.
The Government has identified 480 locations where 1.5 Meter height check dams can be built. The Government will spend around Rs. 413.81 crore for construction of 300 such bridge cum dams.
Additional Chief Secretary Water Resources Anu Garg, Principal Secretary Works Vir Vikram Yadav, and Principal Secretary Finance Vishal Kumar Dev also attended the meeting.