BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced that the annual grant of the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) will be doubled. He said this while reviewing the programmes of the council through videoconferencing.
Naveen also announced that offices of the council will be opened at 10 districts and at Athamallik sub division in Angul district. He also directed the officials to create more job opportunities for the youths of the western Odisha.
Annual grant of the council was Rs 3 crore in the year 1999-2000, but now it has increased to Rs 100 crore per annum. After this announcement, the council will get Rs 200 crore for the financial year 2021-22.
Decisions were taken in the meeting to speed up several big projects including Biju ExpressWay and Lower Suktel irrigation project for the growth of the western part of the state. The officials put emphasis on creating infrastructure for poultry in Balangir, fish farming in Kalahandi, dairying and milk production in Boudh and Sonepur, rice and its value addition in Sambalpur, Bargarh and Sonepur and handloom clusters in this region.
“Doubling WODC’s annual grant and opening offices in all 10 districts and Athamallik sub division are two great decisions taken by the chief minister,” said chairman of WODC Asit Kumar Tripathy.