BHUBANESWAR : Institutionalised climate adaptation initiatives and measures are transforming lives and building a sustainable future for communities in Odisha, revealed the Economic Survey 2025-26 report of the Centre on Thursday.
As per the report, the 39,000 Pani Panchayats formed across the state remain central to this effort by having empowered communities to manage water resources while ensuring the inclusion of women and marginalised users.
Apart from Pani Panchayats, the report stated the Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for climate-resilient agriculture enhanced 538 minor irrigation systems across 15 districts, benefiting around 125,000 households.
“By integrating modern irrigation techniques with sustainable agriculture and aquaculture practices, the project has achieved a 28.8 pc increase in water productivity, a 67.8 pc rise in agricultural output, a 105 pc growth in high value vegetable farming and a 27 pc boost in household incomes. These initiatives are transforming lives and building a sustainable future for communities in Odisha,” the report underlined.
It further said that the climate-resilient villages initiatives in Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil Nadu demonstrate how resilience can be institutionalised at the grassroots by transforming resilience from a project into a local governance function.
The report also praised state’s efforts in tackling solid waste. “Odisha launched a state-wide mission to tackle solid waste in 2023, called the ‘Garbage-Free Urban Odisha. The mission combines advanced bio-mining technologies, strong institutional planning, and community participation through self-help groups to tackle legacy waste and transform reclaimed dumpsites into new wealth centres, thereby securing against further dumping,” it stated.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has also rolled out initiatives such as a coconut waste processing facility, a flower waste facility, a 150-tonnes per day (TPD) mega material recovery facility and a 10-TPD plasma processor to convert waste into value-added products, creating livelihoods, and fostering innovation in urban waste management, it added.