Govt sanctions Rs 22 cr for Chilika lake development

The state government on Monday sanctioned Rs 22 crore for the Chilika Development Authority (CDA), which will be spent for the infrastructure development of the largest brackish water lake of the country. Out of the Rs 22 crore planned expenditure, the state government will provide Rs 10 crore, while the rest will come from the central government, according to the decision taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. In the meeting, it was also decided to stop destructive fishing in the lake to check environment pollution and the government announced to formulate a law to ban such activity. The officials said, a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Tokyo University for the safety of dolphins residing in the lake.