Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday said rural people are now entitled to development on all fronts.
He said this while launching the state’s flagship ‘Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha’ (Our Odisha, New Odisha) scheme in tribal-dominated Kalahandi and Nabarangpur districts.
Under provision of the scheme, each gram panchayat of a district will get Rs 50 lakh for development of infrastructure.
The scheme was launched in five Assembly constituencies of Kalahandi district with a budget allocation of Rs 155 crore.
The constituencies are Junagarh, Lanjigarh, Narla, Dharamgarh and Bhawanipatna. In all, 4,678 projects will be implemented in 310 panchayats under 13 blocks of the district with the sanctioned fund, officials said.
Similarly, Rs 94.5 crore has been sanctioned for four constituencies in Nabarangpur district. These are Dabugaon, Nabarangpur, Umerkot and Jharigaon. As many as 2,942 projects will be taken up in 189 panchayats under 10 blocks in the district, they added.
Launching the scheme through video-conference from Bhubaneswar, the chief minister said, “Each village will undergo transformation besides promotion, preservation and protection of Jagannath culture and tradition of the state.”
He said development of digital infrastructure is one of the objectives of the scheme. Internet connectivity, skill development centre, works hub and banking facilities are its other features. It will also open up vast opportunities for youths, women and farmers in rural areas, he said.
VK Pandian, who is the chairman of 5T (a transformational initiative) and Nabin Odisha, said the chief minister has announced five gifts for women during his fifth term in the government.
Pandian listed the gifts as daily meal at Rs 5, financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to every pregnant woman under Mamata scheme, travelling in buses under LAccMI scheme at Rs 5, interest free loan of Rs 5 lakh to each Mission Shakti and additional treatment cost of Rs 5 lakh under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.
PTI
