The Odisha Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has approved several proposals. The major projects sanctioned include:
- The cabinet approved to provide a guarantee of Rs 2,600 crore loans to GRIDCO during the 2020-21 financial year. The government’s assurance will enable GRIDCO to get a 2% interest allowance from banks. Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, who was also present during the cabinet resolution, said that GRIDCO would reduce the electricity supplier’s financial cost and as a result, the retail tariff for industries, MSMEs and general consumers will come down
- The second important proposal is that of the turnkey tender of NCC Limited. This proposal includes three major construction projects in Puri under the ABADHA Scheme with an estimated budget of ₹461.25 Cr. The projects include the construction of Jagannath Ballav Pilgrim Centre, Market Complex and Shree Setu along with an extension of the Musa River. Tripathy assured that the work will be completed within 30 months
- The cabinet also passed a proposal to separate acquired government land and private land for ‘Heritage Security Corridor around Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri’ in favour of Shri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee to correct the Record of Rights in the name of Lord Shri Jagannath
- The cabinet approved the construction of a 3-km long flyover on Joda-Bamberi Highway in Kendujhar with an estimated cost of ₹144.11 crores. The project aims to offer a dedicated freight carriageway for vehicles carrying minerals, reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the town of Joda
The other decisions taken in the cabinet meeting were:
- Appointment of Shri Bibhuti Bhusan Pattanaik, IAS (Retd) & Ex-Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Shri Sudhansu Sekhar Rath, former VC of GM University as Members in the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC)
- Approval for amendment of recruitment and conditions of service rules to attract doctors from other states
- The cabinet accepted the state law commission recommendation to repeal 215 appropriation acts
- The cabinet gave its nod to Odisha’s food and procurement policy for 2020-21