The Odisha government has sanctioned 60 projects, amounting to over Rs 18,000 crore, funded by the Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation (OMBADC) till October 2023. OMBADC, a special-purpose vehicle of the Government of Odisha, was established under the Companies Act, 2013, in December 2014. The chief executive officer of OMBADC, G Rajesh, made this announcement during a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena.
The projects, proposed by 18 different departments, have utilized 72% of the released amount, which stands at Rs 10,868 crore. Notably, the highest expenditure of 93% has been by the Housing and Urban Development department, followed by Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Rural Development departments at 84% each. In contrast, the School and Mass Education department reported the lowest expenditure at 63%. More than 28,000 pucca houses have been allocated to beneficiaries, and 58,000 households in eight mining districts are being supplied with piped water. Several major piped water supply projects are expected to be commissioned by March 2024. Additionally, a medical college and hospital are under construction in Jajpur district and are nearing completion.
Details of the projects reveal a diverse range of sectors being addressed. Under the drinking water sector, 30 Mega Pipe Water Supply projects have been approved for four mining districts, with an investment of Rs. 8909 Cr. In the education sector, infrastructure development in schools is progressing, with 1146 secondary schools funded under the High School Transformation initiative. The education sector’s total allocation is Rs. 3539.30 Cr. The health sector has an allocation of Rs. 2942.91 Cr, focusing on infrastructure development in health facilities and a 150-bed MCH wing in Jajpur’s medical college. The water conservation sector, with an allocation of over Rs. 700 Cr, includes several types of Soil and Moisture Conservation (SMC) activities and afforestation efforts. The rural connectivity sector, with a similar investment, aims to construct 249 all-weather roads and 25 bridges. For livelihood projects, over Rs. 500 Cr has been allocated, covering activities like horticulture, animal husbandry, and fisheries. In the environment protection and pollution control sector, Rs. 19.75 Cr has been sanctioned, which includes the installation of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in polluted areas of the mining districts.