Bhubaneswar: In a major push to overhaul and expand Odisha’s rural economy, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi is scheduled to launch ‘Sambandha’ on September 25, a state-wide membership drive aiming to enrol at least one member from every rural household into the cooperative fold.
The ambitious campaign by the Cooperation Department introduces a new dedicated mobile application designed to streamline digital member registrations with greater operational transparency, according to a CMO release.
Alongside the membership expansion, the state government will also introduce a new State Sector Scheme titled ‘Promotion of Sugarcane Production’. The programme focuses on boosting sugarcane cultivation within the catchment zones of cooperative sugar factories, placing immediate priority on reviving and operationalising the dormant Badamba Cooperative Sugar Mill while bolstering operations at the historic Asika Cooperative Sugar Mill in Ganjam district.
Marking a historic milestone for Odisha’s agricultural cooperative framework, farmer-members affiliated with Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and Large Area Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPCS) will begin receiving direct dividend payouts for the first time.
To further diversify income streams for dairy farmers and strengthen grassroots infrastructure, the Chief Minister will virtually inaugurate new milk collection points at PACS level, alongside launching Krushi Seva Kendras, consumer outlets, and Jan Seva Kendras across rural districts.
The initiative also aligns state-level bodies with central digital mandates by formally integrating local PACS units into the National Level PACS Computerisation Software (NLPS). Groundwork for physical storage and distribution networks will expand simultaneously, with foundation stones being laid for Model Mandis and facility hubs under the ‘World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan’ in the cooperative sector, the release further stated.
Rounding out the administrative push, Chief Minister Majhi will personally hand out appointment letters to newly recruited Cooperative Inspectors and successful candidates entering the Odisha State Warehousing Corporation (OSWC), it added.