Bhubaneswar: With a view to boosting livelihood of tribal families that depend on coffee cultivation in Koraput district, the state government has decided to expand the area of coffee plantation by 5,000 hectares in the next five years.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said this while launching distribution of smart health cards in the Koraput district Saturday.
The Koraput coffee has emerged as a new coffee brand in the market and created livelihood opportunities for the tribal people, Naveen said.
The state government aims at undertaking coffee farming on 5,000 hectares of land in the next five years in Koraput, he said.
On this occasion, Patnaik also inaugurated several developmental projects worth Rs 1,000 crore through virtual mode. Around 12 lakh poor people of Koraput district would get medical benefits under the smart health card programme.
Similarly, the Chief Minister launched projects worth Rs 133 crore in Nabarangpur district Saturday. He also said that 11.30 lakh people would benefit under the BSKY scheme in Nabarangpur district.
The Chief Minister also dedicated 49 health institutions built at a cost of Rs 45 crore for improvement in the health care system in the district.
With the launching of the smart health cards in two districts Saturday, as many as 23 districts have been covered under the scheme so far.
PNN