Bhubaneswar: To revive the hard-hit rural economy, the state government unveiled a Rs 17,000 crore plan Friday to support the livelihood of people, including farmers and migrant workers.
The decision was taken at a Council of Ministers meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held through video conferencing.
The Council of Ministers approved Special Livelihood Intervention Plan where it is decided that the state government will spend Rs 17,000 crore from June 2020 to March 2021, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy said after the meeting.
The plan will be implemented in rural areas as the public health crisis has triggered an economic crisis as well, he said.
The plan will generate employment in sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and animal resources development, MGNREGA, forest, and handlooms & handicrafts.
The focus of the plan will be farmers and wage earners, Tripathy said, adding that the government has also taken several measures in the industrial, tourism and other employment generating sectors. The focus is on rural areas as the majority of the people live there, he said. Through this plan, all critical intervention will be made to revive the rural economy during the next 10 months.
Tripathy said the government has planned to spend Rs 200 crore on agriculture related support to 24.56 lakh farmers and women self help groups (SHGs) while Rs 111.47 crore will be utilized on fisheries sector, through which 38,900 farmers will be benefited.
Under the mega plan, the government has also decided to create 20 crore mandys under MGNREGA spending Rs 6640 crore in the next 10 months. About 46.45 lakh people will get the benefit, the chief secretary said.