Bhubaneswar: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), Odisha regional office, has achieved a record performance during the year 2017-18.
The total financial support to the State Government, banks and corporations crossed Rs 17,195 crore during the year, registering more than double compared to Rs 8,368 crore during 2015-16, said Nabard Chief General Manager (CGM) KC Panigrahi at a Press conference held here on Thursday.
Panigrahi said the annual financial support also registered a spectacular increase by 152 per cent of the annual achievement with this year’s target of Rs 11,303 crore.
The CGM said Odisha has been one of the biggest beneficiaries under the Rural Infrastructure Development Funds (RIDF) of Nabard under which loans are extended to the State Government for critical rural infrastructure like irrigation, roads and bridges. The total resource support under this fund to the State Government reached Rs 2,512 crore during 2017-18, which is the highest in the country.
Panigrahi said one of the major infrastructure projects sanctioned during this year is for construction of 14 mega-lift irrigation projects with RIDF loan of Rs 1,500 crore. Besides, loan support of Rs 220 crore has been sanctioned towards construction of 612 community-based lift irrigation projects, Rs 128 crore for construction of a bridge over river Mahanadi in Cuttack district, Rs 217 crore for construction of 17 flood protection projects and Rs 166 crore for 175 rural drinking water supply schemes. The cumulative RIDF disbursements in the State by this year amounted to be about Rs 15,000 crore.
He further said the RIDF assistance in the State is estimated to bring 23 lakh hectares of area under irrigation and construction of roads and bridges having a length of about 10,000 km and about 1.15 lakh metres, respectively.
Under the Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF), the Nabard has extended financial assistance of Rs 1,044 crore towards completion of eight mega irrigation projects under a dedicated fund in the State. It has also extended financial assistance of Rs 18 crore under the Warehouse Infrastructure Fund (WIF) for construction of storage godowns in the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS).
Besides, an amount of Rs 7,930 crore was disbursed for refinance to the State’s Cooperative Banks and RRBs for financing crop loans.
The Nabard also disbursed an amount of Rs 4,585 to the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation for its paddy procurement operation.
He mentioned that the Nabard has promoted and registered 100 Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) in the State covering 28 districts and sanctioned additional 225 FPOs in the State this year. And for promotion of 325 FPOs, it has disbursed Rs 5.91 crore, he added.
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