Judicious utilisation of resources within safe limits is the need of the hour, said Water Resources Principal Secretary PK Jena delivering key note address during the State Level Inception Workshop on Green Climate Fund (GCF) Project organised by the Nabard here.
He exhorted the officials of various departments to put in concerted efforts to ensure that the benefits of the GCF project reaches the beneficiaries.
The GCF project titled “Ground water recharge and solar pumping system to ensure food security and enhance resilience in vulnerable tribal areas of Odisha” involves a financial outlay of US$166.297 million including US $34.36 million grant support from GCF covering 15 tribal dominated districts of Odisha benefitting 5.20 million people.
The major outcome envisaged from this project is augmentation of ground water recharge in 10,000 ponds, improved food security through resilient crop planning and integration of solar pumps for irrigation.
Inaugurating the workshop, Nabard CGM A Chandrasekhar stressed upon the importance of the project in the present scenario of adverse effects of climate change. He highlighted the pivotal role being played by Nabard to address issues relating to climate change through its various developmental initiatives.
Appreciating the proactive role being played by the State Government, he called upon all the stakeholders to work towards successful implementation of the project.
The workshop was attended by senior officials from the Department of Water Resources, Department of Panchayati Raj, ICAR, WALMI, ORSAC, IIWM and DDMs of Nabard.