The Odisha Cabinet accepted 19 proposals from 10 departments, including the Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative’ (LAccMI) scheme for safe and sustainable movement of people and products.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presided over the Cabinet meeting.
Following the Cabinet meeting, Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena, and Development Commissioner Anu Garg briefed reporters.
Minister Nayak informed and remarked on the Commerce and Transport Department’s LAccMI Yojana.
The Cabinet approved the proposal of the Revenue and DM Department to lease out government land totaling 48 acres 842 decimals in Padanpur, Baratola, Bhimpur and Belapada mouzas under Jatni tehsil of Khordha district in favour of National Institute of Science Education & Research (NISER) on free of all charges basis for setting up Cancer Hospital & Education Centre by Tata Memorial Centre (TMC).
The Cabinet approved the Nutana Unnata Abhilasha (NUA) Odisha scheme, which will invest Rs 385 crore to train 100,000 youngsters in the state each year for the next three years. The SD & TE Department will provide opportunities for skilling, reskilling, and upskilling through skilling institutions (ITI, Polytechnic, etc.), government skilling institutions, educational institutions, and clusters (MSME, agriculture, craft, etc.) in all 30 districts where the scheme will be implemented.
The Cabinet also agreed to alter the Odisha Mobile Towers and Telegraphic Line, OFC, and associated Telecom Infrastructure Policy 2017. The amendment aims to alter existing state policy and to encourage faster and easier deployment of telecom infrastructure in order to enable rapid 5G rollout, minimize operational challenges, and improve the quality of service across the state.
To address the drinking water crisis, the Cabinet approved the lowest bid of M/S The Indian Hume Pipe Co. Ltd, Mumbai (Rs 639,16,28,812.00) for the completion of four Mega Piped Water Supply Projects. When completed, about 4,60,612 people from 498 villages under 92 GPs in seven blocks of Puri district would have access to safe drinking water.
The Cabinet also approved a proposal to open ‘CSP Plus’ banking outlets in 4,373 unbanked gram panchayats of the state in collaboration with six public sector banks of India, with a budgetary support of roughly Rs 500 crore.
The Odisha Cabinet also approved the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24 Food and Procurement Policy to govern all elements of paddy and rice procurement.
KMS 2023-24 will begin on October 1, 2023 and end on September 30, 2024. During the Kharif and Rabi seasons, the State Government will purchase paddy individually inside the KMS.
The government will buy paddy from registered farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). They will then engage Custom Millers to process the paddy into rice.
The state will utilize the obtained rice for its Public Distribution System (PDS) to fulfill commitments under the National Food Security Act, the State Food Security Scheme, and other Welfare Schemes. If there is any surplus rice, it will be transferred to the Food Corporation of India (FCI). FCI will then evacuate the excess rice to deficit States.