After successful intervention in the first phase, the State has been chosen by the Ministry of Environment and Forest to implement second phase of the World Bank assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP).
A high level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra on Tuesday decided to scale up the second phase projects to more than Rs 500 crore.
Outlining the major objectives of the Phase-II projects, ICZMP Project Director Ajit Kumar Patnaik said it is essential to manage coastal zone with an integrated approach balancing and integrating demands of various sectors simultaneously.
Lessons from Phase-I will be used for scaling up the project to the entire 480-km coastline. Attempts will be made towards holistic integration by bringing in agriculture, health and animal husbandry sectors, he said.
The multi-pronged approach and strategic interventions taken up during Phase-I of the project has yielded encouraging results and people’s acceptance. The Union Ministry has chosen the State for Phase-II intervention due to the success achieved in the first phase, he said.
The Chief Secretary advised Government departments and agencies to formulate realistic project proposals in consultation with the Project Director.
The departments were further advised to formulate the projects in the perspective of sustainability of Phase-I interventions. It has been tentatively decided to scale up Phase-II projects to more than Rs 500 crore, official sources said.
The major interventions taken up in the first phase include strengthening Wetland Research & Training Centre at Chilika, protection measures for control of coastal erosion at Pentha in Kendrapara district, conservation of bio-diversity and livelihood security through eco-tourism, and alternative livelihood for coastal fishermen.
As an alternative livelihood intervention, 369 SHGs have been identified for support in fishery activities. Out of them, 309 SHGs have been imparted technical and skill upgradation training and first instalment finance of Rs 50,000 has been released to each group.
ICZMP has been envisaged as a five-year project with budget outlay of around Rs 220 crore. The Phase-I project period is up to 2014-15.
The annual action plan for 2013-14 involves projects worth Rs 125 crore. Odisha is one of three States which are implementing this kind of project. The other States are West Bengal and Bihar.