Only sixteen of 207 approved mega piped water supply projects have been completed in Odisha and the rest are in progress, a minister informed the assembly on Tuesday. Replying to a question by BJD legislator Souvic Biswal, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik said the projects were targeted to be completed in two years after issuance of work orders. However, some projects got delayed due to various reasons, including delays in the conduct of detailed engineering surveys and investigations, identification of the source of water and approval of different departments, Naik said. Considering the prevailing issues and progress, steps are being taken to complete the ongoing 191 projects in three phases, he said. Fifty-six projects were targeted to be completed by March 2025, and an additional 54 would be to be completed by December 2025, the minister said. A target has been set to complete the remaining 81 piped water supply projects, which were started at the en