Bhubaneswar: Odisha is developing at a rapid pace and is all set for an industrial revolution, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi said on Sunday after unfurling the National flag in Cuttack on the occasion of the 76th Republic Day.
“I firmly believe that with the joint efforts of the Central government and the state government, the next 5 years will be the golden age of infrastructure development for Odisha. The double engine governments will ensure double the development of Odisha,” he said.
The CM also mentioned about the recent visit of the Singapore President to Odisha and the signing of eight MoUs with the state government. “Our government is committed to using the precious mineral resources of the state instead of exporting them and bringing about industrial revolution in the state. This will benefit lakhs of youth of our state,” he said.
The CM further stated that the Odisha government has approved investments worth about Rs 2 lakh crore in the last seven months, which will create more than one lakh employment opportunities.
Speaking about infrastructure development, he said that the Centre has approved four road projects worth Rs 20,000 crore and eight new railway line projects worth about Rs 20,000 crore for Odisha.
Majhi said the upcoming Utkarsh Odisha-Make in Odisha Conclave-2025 will open up avenues for investment in both traditional mines, minerals sectors as well as modern sectors like renewable energy, IT, semiconductors, steel, agro-based industries, tourism, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, port-based industries.
Speaking about the first cabinet meeting, he said four important decisions were taken within hours of the oath-taking ceremony of the BJP government, which included reopening the four doors of the temple for devotees, setting up a corpus fund of R. 500 crore for conservation, maintenance and management of the temple, implementation of the Subhadra Yojana for women empowerment, and raise the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 3100 per quintal.
To stress the importance of the decisions taken by his government in past months, he said that development would not reach its zenith without the welfare of the farmers, women, tribals, education and health. He further announced that the second instalment of the Subhadra Yojana will be disbursed on March 8, on the occasion of International Women’s Day. “Using this assistance, mothers can earn money for their families by starting small businesses. From next month, 3.5 crore people of one crore families will also be entitled to health service benefits under Ayushman Bhara. About 70 per cent of the state’s population earns their living from agriculture and allied activities. Therefore, it is the moral responsibility of our government to provide them with the necessary facilities,” he said.
He mentioned about Rs 291 crore disbursed as compensation to farmers who suffered crop losses due to untimely rain last December.
Majhi said the state government is working hard to bring reforms in the education system in Odisha. “Two days ago, out government cleared a plan to upgrade nearly 6,800 state-run primary schools as model schools under the Godabarish Mishra Adarsh Prathamik Vidyalaya (GMAPV) scheme. A model primary school equipped with modern facilities will be set in each of the state’s 6,794 gram panchayats over the next five year at an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore,” he said.
“On this holy day, I appeal to everyone, let us follow the path shown by Baba Saheb and make Odisha a prosperous state by 2036 and contribute to making our country India a developed country by 2047,” he added.
