BHUBANESWAR: Development commissioner and additional chief secretary, Water Resources Anu Garg on Friday asked three departments implementing the World Bank-aided Odisha integrated irrigation project for climate resilient agriculture (OIIPCRA) to accelerate the activities to complete the projects within the stipulated timeline.
Taking a review of the progress of the project being implemented by the departments of Water Resources, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development in convergence, Garg stressed the need for innovation to build climate-smart villages leveraging technology for effective monitoring. Project director of OIIPCRA Rashmi Ranjan Nayak highlighted the achievements made so far in key sectors and challenges faced during the implementation of the project.
Externally aided projects involving a cost of about Rs 1,683 crore are being implemented in 15 districts of the state with an objective to intensify and diversify agricultural production and enhance climate resilience under four components. The projects aim at demonstrating climate-smart agriculture in irrigation command of about 56,400 hectares of command area under 538 minor irrigation projects and about 70,000 hectares of rain-fed area under the influence of minor irrigation projects for augmenting the capacity and income of the farmers in the project area.
Sources said the Green climate fund is a part of the project aimed at groundwater recharge in community ponds through structural adaptation measures and the use of solar pumps for microirrigation to ensure water security in vulnerable areas. The project beneficiaries are estimated at about 1.25 lakh households with small land holdings. Key components of the project are an adaptation of the groundwater recharge system, renovation of community tanks, integration of solar pumps for irrigation and capacity building of stakeholders.