705 villages brought under OMBADC

Around 705 villages under 124 Gram Panchayats in nine districts have been brought under the coverage area of Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC), official sources said.

This was decided at a meeting of the OMBADC held under chairmanship of Chief Secretary A P Padhi.

The OMBADC is a special purpose vehicle created by the state government in April 2014 following a Supreme Court order to carry out developmental activities in mining affected areas of Odisha.

It was decided in the meeting that urban local bodies located within the mining affected areas would also be included under the OMBADC funds, the sources said.

Projects such as drinking water, housing, sanitation, road communication, skill enhancement, health services, soil moisture conservation, irrigation and others will be taken up on priority basis under the fund.

OMBADC Managing Director Uma Nanduri said in the first phase, a target was set to construct around 29,829 houses by May, 2018.

Similarly, 244 drinking water projects have been sanctioned under OMBADC. Out of this, 25 projects have already been completed, the sources said.

Padhi also directed the officials to fetch water from surface sources like stream and reservoirs where ground water is not available.