BHUBANESWAR: Chief secretary Anu Garg on Thursday asked all district administrations to identify suitable land for setting up automated weather stations and rain gauges in their jurisdictions.
Chairing a meeting at the Lok Seva Bhawan, Garg reviewed the progress of installation of weather stations and rain gauges in the districts. To strengthen disaster preparedness, the state government has undertaken a massive expansion initiative to install over 500 AWS and 6,000 ARGs at block and GP levels.
The initiative is being jointly executed by Agriculture and Revenue & Disaster Management departments. It is utilising funding from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) budget to improve decentralised weather data collection, agricultural risk management and early disaster forecasting.
Official sources said Rs 116 crore is being utilised for implementation of the projects in different places. A detailed review was conducted on the uninterrupted and effective implementation of PMFBY in the state.