The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Saturday said it has sanctioned ₹770 crore financial assistance for the construction of two irrigation projects in Jharkhand.

These projects were approved under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for the fiscal year 2024-25.

"NABARD has sanctioned financial assistance of ₹769.58 crore for construction of two irrigation projects in Palamu and Giridih districts under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund during FY 2024-25," S K Jahagirdar, Chief General Manager, NABARD Jharkhand Regional Office, said.

Once completed, the project in Palamu will provide irrigation to an additional 11,000 hectares of land through pipelines across eight blocks in the district.

The megalift irrigation project in Giridih will cover 165 of the 197 villages in Pirtand block, leading to the development of 10,158 hectares of cultivable command area.

Both projects are expected to significantly enhance agricultural activities in these districts, according to NABARD.

"With this sanction, NABARD's support to Jharkhand under RIDF during FY 2024-25 has reached ₹1,017 crore. The support provided to Jharkhand since the inception of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund now stands at around ₹24,300 crore," the bank said in a statement.