Odisha Government intensifies efforts to boost irrigation Capacity, modernize water management

Bhubaneswar, Sep 2 (UNI) The Odisha Government has intensified its efforts to enhance irrigation capacity and modernise water management across the state.

Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officials today and finalised the roadmap for implementation.

The review emphasised the timely completion of ongoing projects to achieve targets set under the state’s Five-Year Irrigation Plan.
As part of the directive, five major, 15 medium, and 100 minor irrigation projects have been identified for accelerated execution.

The Engineer-in-Chief, Water Resources, has been entrusted with monitoring both ongoing works and new initiatives, while the Engineer-in-Chief (Procurement) has been instructed to expedite the tendering process to ensure early implementation.
Additionally, the meeting directed the Odisha Construction Corporation (OCC) and the Chief Engineer, Minor Irrigation, to speed up tank development projects under the Odisha Integrated Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management Project (OIIPCRA).
For financial sustainability, the Engineer-in-Chief (Planning & Design) was tasked with improving water rate collection from industries.

The review also stressed visible progress in key areas such as the installation of gates on ungated projects, automation of existing gates, and river interlinking.

The Water Resources Department further set a target to complete 50 minor irrigation projects using Underground Pressurised Pipeline (UGPL) systems.