By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, January 11. 2016 : Odisha on Monday mooted Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for development in the mining periphery areas in eight mineral rich districts.

Rs 900 crore will be spent for infrastructure development of 508 villages in 33 blocks and 64 gram panchayats in the periphery of the mineral bearing areas in Keonjhar, Angul, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Dhenkanal, Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Koraput districts.

The move by the Odisha government took a final shape at a high-level meeting presided over by chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, principal secretary, Forest and Environment, Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said, “It was also decided that 50 percent of the money, deposited in the additional CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) for diversion of forest, would be spent for the infrastructure development while priority would be given on conversion of kutcha houses into pucca houses, drinking water supply and sanitation in these villages,” Mohapatra said.

He said the state government has formed Mineral Bearing Development Corporation (MBDC) as the SPV with the chief secretary as its chairman.

“Work will start very soon after the approval of the detailed project report (DPR) by the SPV,” he added.

The Board of Directors of MBDC will soon meet and the infrastructure development work would be implemented through the line departments like the Panchayati Raj and Revenue and Disaster Management, Mohapatra informed.