Three months after the Odisha Cabinet approved the ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha’ scheme that has been dubbed as a pre-poll sop, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on October 10 officially began disbursing funds for panchayat development in the State.
The State government approved ₹148.50 crore for 297 gram panchayats coming under six Assembly constituencies of Keonjhar district and ₹109 crore for 218 gram panchayats in Bhadrak district.
Odisha has proposed to spend ₹3,397 crore for 6,794 gram panchayats across the State. As many as 90,723 projects will be taken up using the fund. Each panchayat is entitled to get ₹50 lakh. The project cost varies between ₹2.5 lakh and ₹10 lakh.
“Under the Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha programme, the Jagannath culture will be preserved in villages. All temples and religious places will be developed. It is necessary to preserve these centres of culture and tradition for our future generation,” said Mr. Patnaik.
The Odisha CM said efforts were being made to improve digital infrastructure in each village which will lead to setting up of a science park, work hub and banking facilities. Primary schools will also be included in this programme.
According to sources, disbursement of funds under ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha’ and its implementation would help keep the momentum going till both Assembly and general elections scheduled to be held next year.
Measures would also be taken up to augment rural infrastructure leading to accelerated growth. However, a majority of project proposals that had come from gram panchayats pertained to development of temples.
