Odisha government launches infrastructure and healthcare initiatives

The Odisha government has decided to launch a new scheme to build disaster-resilient roads of 500 km with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore, an official said.

The state cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, approved eight proposals, including the above scheme, during its meeting held on Wednesday evening.

The main objective of the scheme is to build resilient road infrastructure to ensure minimal disruption in connectivity during and after disasters, enabling unhindered access to emergency operational services in disaster-affected areas of the state, said Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja.

These roads will be durable enough to withstand damage due to disasters with minimum maintenance. The roads will serve as a lifeline in disaster-prone areas, he said.

Ahuja said the scheme will be implemented over a period of five years from financial year 2025-26 to 2029-30, with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 200 crore each year).

The cabinet also gave its nod to another new scheme, 'Constituency-wise Allocation' (CWA) in Odisha.

The objective of this scheme is to construct/improve rural development (RD) roads under 142 assembly constituencies in the state, he said.

The scheme will be implemented over a period of three years, from the 2024-25 fiscal year to the 2026-27 fiscal year, with an outlay of Rs 426 crore.

The state cabinet has approved the scheme named as 'Mukhyamantri Bus Seva' (MBS) to provide safe, reliable, affordable, and efficient public transport bus connectivity to all strategic places of the state.

The government will provide 50 per cent concession in ticket fares in both non-AC and AC bus services for women, transgender, students, persons with disability (PwDs) and senior citizens, he said, adding, a total of Rs 3,278 crore has been allocated for the scheme for three years.

This bus service would connect with all important business centres, educational and medical hubs and other places of public interest within and outside the state, the chief secretary said.

The cabinet has also approved the proposal to continue the 'Nirmal: Strengthening ancillary services at public health facilities' scheme for a period of five years, with an estimated budget of Rs 5,174.79 crore.

The scheme aims to provide better ambience and quality care to patients at public health facilities across the state, Ahuja said.

Another proposal of the Health department to continue the NIDAAN, free diagnostic and dialysis services scheme, has also been approved by the government.

A total of Rs 2,459.51 crore has been allocated for the scheme for five years to enhance free diagnostic and dialysis services at public health facilities across the state, he added.

It was decided in the cabinet meeting to bear the cost of Rs 2,021.87 crore from the state budget for management of biomedical waste of public healthcare facilities, Ahuja said.

The government has created 113 new posts in the Odisha Veterinary Technical Service cadre. With this, the cadre strength has been enhanced to 4,158, officials said.