The Odisha cabinet on Saturday approved nine piped water supply projects worth over Rs 1,287 crore in three districts, including tribal-dominated Malkangiri, in a bid to provide safe drinking water to people, an official statement said.

During the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the state government gave its nod to two such projects worth Rs 254.66 crore in Jajpur and three with an outlay of Rs 393.93 crore in Nayagarh district, it said.?

Execution of four mega piped water supply projects at Rs 639.26 crore under the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' in Malkangiri was also given go-ahead, and over 3 lakh people in 453 villages in the tribal district will be benefitted, the statement issued from the chief secretary's office said.?

Moreover, around 4.45 lakh people in Jajpur and Nayagarh districts will be benefitted from the drinking water supply projects.?

Elaborating on the decisions taken by the cabinet, Development Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena said an increase of grant for government-aided college employees is among the proposals cleared.?

The hike in grant-in-aid will be effective from January 1, 2022, he said, adding that the decision will benefit around 15,711 teachers and employees, and the government will incur an additional expenditure of Rs 290 crore annually.

The cabinet also green-lighted a proposal to allot two acres of land in favour of Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Care Centre and Research Institute for the construction of a facility for the accommodation of cancer patients.?

"This will help cancer patients avail stay at affordable prices for a longer period of their treatment. The land will be free of premium in the close vicinity of the main hospital campus at Chandihata under Jatni tehsil in Khurda district," the statement added.