Bhubaneswar: Few months before the polls, the cabinet on Friday approved four mega lift irrigation (LI) projects and two rural piped water supply projects worth Rs 2,600 crore.While the drinking water projects would benefit around six lakh people in rural areas in six blocks of Nabarangpur and Boudh districts, the LI projects would irrigate more than 50,000 hectares of poorly irrigated areas in nine districts.“The state government aims to provide safe drinking water to every household. As part of it, both rural water supply projects were sanctioned under the BASUDHA scheme of the state government,” said chief secretary A P Padhi after the cabinet meeting.According to official sources, infrastructure-giant L&T Limited would take up a Rs 427-crore rural water supply project in Boudh district that would benefit 2.95 lakh people living in 747 villages under in Boudh and Kantamal blocks.Similarly, Hyderabad-based GVPR Engineers Ltd would take up the Rs 555-crore piped-water supply project, which would help 3.17 lakh people under Chandahandi, Nabarangpur, Papadahandi and Koshagumuda blocks in tribal-dominated Nabarangpur district. Both the projects are expected to be completed in 24 months, said Padhi.As the mega lift project programme, launched in 2011-12, is one of its successful initiatives to create irrigation potential for farm land, the cabinet approved four more LI projects. Official sources said Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited would take up two LI projects.While one will create irrigation potential for over 14,900 hectares in Jajpur, Keonjhar and Jharsuguda districts with an investment of Rs 432 crore, the second project would irrigate 16,154 hectares in Angul, Boudh and Dhenkanal districts with an investment of Rs 445 crore.While the LI projects in Angul, Boudh and Dhenkanal will be implemented on river Mahanadi and Rengali right bank canal, the projects in Jajpur, Keonjhar and Jharsuguda districts will have intake points on Brahmani, Baitarani, Mahanadi and Ib rivers.Another LI project worth irrigation potential of 12,900 hectares in Sambalpur and Sonepur districts will be developed by L&T Limited worth Rs 357 crore. It will draw water from the Mahanadi.Similarly, GVPR Engineers Ltd would execute one project worth Rs 386 crore in Malkangiri district that would irrigate 12,964 hectares. The project will have intake points on rivers like Potteru, Saberi, Garia and Kolab in Malkangiri. The four LI projects are expected to be completed in three years, said an official source.The state government has so far taken up 170 LI projects since 2011-12 under the mega lift project covering 22 districts. Out of this, 67 projects have already been completed and have created irrigation facilities in more than 77,000 hectares.

Stay updated with all the Latest Bhubaneswar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.