Kolkata, Sep 4: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Tuesday said it has sanctioned Rs 334.75 crore in August, under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), to West Bengal for 158 minor irrigation and 23 flood protection projects.

The projects were expected to benefit 20,506 hectares covering 3.09 lakh population in 699 villages of the 22 districts while the flood protection projects would address the problem of rapid bank erosion caused by rivers, according to a statement.

The developmental bank said the implementation of 23 flood protection projects would save around 5,080 hectares of fertile agricultural and homestead lands of farmers of 64 villages which are under the area of erosion. With this cumulative RIDF loan assistance to the state government during the year stands at Rs 1,172.16 crore.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2018 12:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).