Bhubaneswar: The state Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, approved six proposals, including the merger of the state-sponsored Mamata Yojana with the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Wednesday.
Following the merger, the new initiative will be named Mamata-PMMVY, Majhi said. Earlier, beneficiaries used to get Rs 10,000 for the birth of a girl child under the Mamata Yojana.
Now, they will get Rs 12,000 under Mamata-PMMVY,” the chief minister said, adding that beneficiaries will receive Rs 10,000 for the birth of a boy child under the merged scheme.
Women from the VTG community will be given Rs 12,000 for the birth of a girl child and Rs 10,000 for the birth of a boy for all live births, he stated.
Anganwadi workers and Anganwadi helpers, who used to get Rs 200 and Rs 100 respectively as incentives earlier, will now receive Rs 250 and Rs 150, Majhi said.
In the next five years, the expenditure on Mamata-PMMVY would be about Rs 2,670 crore, he said. The state has also decided to construct a barrage in Mayurbhanj district at a cost of Rs 97.67 crore. The work is planned to be completed in 30 months, the CM said.
“The barrage would be built across the river Khairibhandan near Analabeni village in Jashipur block to provide assured Kharif irrigation in the drought-prone region, inhabited mostly by the backwards, weaker and tribal population,” he added.
The state Cabinet approved the amendment of the combined recruitment examination of different posts having Physical Measurement and Physical Efficiency Test Rules, 2022.
The proposal of the Revenue and Disaster Management department to lease out 40 acres and 197 decimal government land in Suleikhamar Mouza in Keonjhar district in favour of Dharanidhar University in the district, free of all charges for the establishment of its north and south campuses, also got the Cabinet approval.
The state Cabinet gave its nod to the amendment of the Odisha Government ITIs Trainers’ Service (Methods of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2024.
Moreover, the Odisha government decided to reserve 11.25 per cent of seats for students belonging to the Socially and Economically Backwards Class (SEBC), taking the total ratio of quota in education to 50 per cent in the state.
While Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hailed the 11.25 per cent reservation decision as an empowering step, the Opposition BJD and Congress demanded at least 27 per cent reservation for the SEBC or OBC students in the education sector, including the medical and engineering courses. “
This move will enhance the value of education among backwards communities and contribute to building a developed Odisha and a stronger India,” Pradhan said.
Senior BJD leader Arun Sahoo said, “The state government has not provided the reservation for the OBC students in medical and engineering courses. We demand that the government implement it immediately.”
If the reservation system is implemented in the medical and engineering courses, then only the SC, ST and OBC students can benefit, Sahoo said. “At least 27 per cent reservation should be provided to the OBC students.
After bringing an amendment to the prevailing law, the reservation should be enhanced to 54 per cent. The SC and ST should also get the reservation as per their population,” the BJD leader demanded.
State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das also said that the government should reconsider the decision ,otherwise it would face protests across Odisha. “The government needs to provide 27 per cent reservation to the OBC students.
The government has not made any change in the admission into medical and technical education courses,” Das said.
PNN
