Bhubaneswar, Sep 27 : The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 206 crore to the Odisha government for construction of 25 roads, officials said on Monday. The assistance has been sanctioned under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for 25 rural road projects in 11 districts across the state, said NABARD's Odisha region office in a statement. The projects with a combined length of 203 km will improve rural road connectivity for 20.48 lakh people in 1723 villages. The Odisha works department will construct the roads and infrastructure projects will play a key role in supporting the rural economy by improving the livelihoods of people, it said. This sanction is in line with the priority given by the state government for developing critical rural infrastructure for drinking water supply, irrigation and rural connectivity (roads and bridges). /IANS