Two supplementary Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) were signed on 12th January 2018 amongst Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD & GR), Government of India, National Water Development Agency (NWDA), National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and State Governments of Bihar and Jharkhand for funding the state share of loan for the North Koel Reservoir Project under Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF). Completion of this project will provide additional irrigation benefit to the extent of 39,801 hectares aggregating to 111,521 hectares of land annually in drought prone areas of Aurangabad and   Gaya districts of Bihar and Palamau and Garhwa districts of Jharkhand.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Sh. H R Dave, DMD expounded upon NABARD’s deeply entrenched linkages with development of irrigation sector through RIDF, LTIF, Watershed Development as well as refinance support to banks. He emphasised on the need for convergence of various initiatives of GoI under AIBP, CADA, micro irrigation etc. to optimize the benefits of water use efficiency and help in realising objectives of ‘per drop more crop’ under PMKSY. He also made a mention of the recent initiatives of NABARD under water campaign which helped in sensitizing the rural people in more than 1 lakh villages to the need for judicious water use and water conservation measures.