Bhubaneswar,28th July 2025: Odisha Panchayati Raj Minister Rabi Narayan Nayak has issued a stern warning that no delay in drinking water supply projects will be tolerated. If any officer or executing agency is found responsible for such delays, their salaries will be withheld, he announced. The department will now conduct double-layered monitoring of all ongoing water projects to ensure timely completion.
The minister acknowledged that drinking water availability remains a key challenge for the government. Though 207 mega projects were initiated to address this, only 18 projects have achieved full household-level supply so far.
Key Project Updates:
- 21 projects are set to be completed by August 2025, and another 11 by December 2025.
- The Balaka mega water project, launched in 2016, will be completed by 2036, marking a 20-year timeline.
- Till date, 29,512 tubewells have been provided in the state.
- 20,891 new tubewells were dug this year alone, benefiting nearly 69,000 people.
- Across all districts and blocks, over 5.27 lakh tubewells are now functional.
Penalty for Non-Compliance:
- Minister Nayak made it clear: delays will result in salary cuts for responsible officials and strict penalties for agencies. “Daily fines are in place, and negligence will not go unpunished,” he said.
e-KYC Mandatory for Job Card Holders:
- In a parallel announcement, the minister stated that e-KYC will be made mandatory for all MGNREGA job card holders.
- If e-KYC is not done within 3 months, the job card will be cancelled.
- The move aims to identify and eliminate fake job cards that are being used to illegally avail government benefits.
- The state has issued over 2 lakh job cards this year, but the number of fake beneficiaries is rising, prompting this strict step.
> This two-pronged action — ensuring timely water delivery and curbing fake welfare access — reflects a tightening of governance and accountability in rural development programs.