Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has expressed displeasure over the poor implementation of the Integrated Watershed Management Project (IWMP) in the State.
Ramesh, in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has stated that barring Karnataka, the pace of implementation of the IWMP in almost every State is dismal.
It may be noted that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 1,595 crore for IWMP projects for Odisha between 2009-10 and 2013-14 of which it has so far released Rs 399 crore and the unspent balance available with the State is Rs 208 crore.
“Had Odisha implemented the IWMP as it had committed to, it could have got another Rs 113 crore from the Centre over the last four years,” Ramesh said while requesting Patnaik to set the right structure for implementation of the projects.
The IWMP was launched in 2009-10 with an objective of restoring the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water to enable multi-cropping and introduction of diverse agro-based activities which ensure sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the watershed areas.