BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has been adjudged the second-best state in the country for the outstanding work done in the field of water resources conservation and management.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar presented the second prize to the development commissioner-cum-additional chief secretary of the water resources department Anu Garg at the fourth National Water Awards ceremony in New Delhi on Saturday.
Besides, Ganjam district has been adjudged the best district in the country for inefficient water resources management. Ganjam collector Dibya Jyoti Parida received the award.
The water resources department has made remarkable progress in recent years in the sustainable development and management of water resources in the state. More than four lakh farmers have been provided water security by creating additional irrigation facilities of 3.2 lakh hectares. Two major projects - Lower Indra and Upper Indravati lift canals, 61 mega lift irrigation projects (LIPs), 2,833 community LIPs and 22,500 deep bore wells have been completed ensuring geographical and social inclusiveness.
Long pending issues of Subarnarekha irrigation projects have been resolved and irrigation has been provided to 32,000 hectares. The irrigation efficiency of the projects has been increased by more than 20 per cent through the adoption of underground pipelines in the distribution systems of all categories of irrigation projects.
“For conservation of water resources, 46 in-stream storage structures have been set up in various rivers to conserve 49,650 hectare-metre of water with an investment of Rs 11,700 crore. Besides, the groundwater resources of the state have also increased from 15.57 billion cubic metres in 2017 to 17.79 billion cubic metres in 2022 through various groundwater conservation measures. Large scale micro water conservation activities have also been taken up under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan throughout the state,” said Garg.