BHUBANESWAR: The state government has sought a year’s extension, up to March 2027, for the centrally-assisted Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of waterbodies scheme, citing delays in completing several projects.
The Water Resources department has requested the directorate (monitoring & appraisal) of the Central Water Commission (CWC), Bhubaneswar, to forward the state government’s proposal to the Ministry of Jal Shakti for approval.
The RRR scheme covers 574 waterbodies in Odisha that were sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Har Khet Ko Pani (PMKSY-HKKP) in October 2022. The projects have an estimated cost of `539.49 crore and aimed at restoring irrigation potential of 38,470 hectare and water storage capacity of 106.8 million cubic metres.
According to the state government, work on 563 waterbodies had been taken up by the end of March 2026, with 501 projects completed. The remaining projects are at different stages of execution and require additional time for completion.