Bhubaneswar: Marking the completion of the BJP government’s second anniversary in Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’ under which an additional five kg of rice will be provided free of cost to the poor.
Majhi said the beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) will be eligible to receive the additional free rice.
The beneficiaries under these schemes currently get 5 kg of free rice. “After the implementation of the new scheme, each beneficiary will get 10 kg of rice free of cost,” the CM said.
Noting that over 3.28 crore people of the state will benefit from the ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’, Majhi said his government will spend Rs 8,813 crore annually on this initiative.
“This is not an expenditure for us, but a social investment to ensure a smile on the faces of the poor,” he said.
Majhi said the objective of the scheme is to make sure that “no family in Odisha remains hungry, no child is a victim of malnutrition, no elderly person suffers due to lack of food”.
“This is our gift to the common people of Odisha on the occasion of the government’s two-year anniversary,” the chief minister said.
During the day, Majhi also launched and laid the foundation for three key projects to control traffic congestion in Bhubaneswar – a six-lane road, the Jayadev Bihar-Nandankanan Road and a flyover.
He also laid the foundation stone for a 20-storey ‘Janashray Bhavan’ at Janpath in the city. The building, to be built at a cost of Rs 874 crore, will provide short-term accommodation at a low cost for up to 2,000 people coming to the state capital from other parts of Odisha.
Besides, the CM launched an initiative to provide smartphones to anganwadi workers, supervisors and block coordinators of the state.
“These phones will be provided to 72,224 anganwadi workers, 2,802 lady supervisors and 338 block coordinators,” an official release stated.
