Bhubaneswar: Governing Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections with a promise to make Odisha No. 1 State by 2034, two years ahead of Odisha’s centenary celebration.
Unveiling the nine-point manifesto, BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “This manifesto will record history in Odisha. In the last 24 years, the BJD government has transformed Odisha from a poor, hunger-prone, backward state gripped by natural calamities to an identity-based State of modern growth, culture and asmita.” V K Pandian, 5T Chief was also present.
With the grace of Lord Jagannath and the blessings of the people, the guarantees presented in this pro-people manifesto will be implemented through the 5T Governance and by 2034, 2 years before celebrating 100 years of the formation of Odisha, Odisha will be given the status of number one state in growth and development in all spheres with the help and strong leadership of all, he announced.
“It is our youth who will write the success story of Odisha. They will be empowered and enriched to write the future of the number one State. A separate budget of Rs 1 lakh crore will be kept for 10 years for the youth of Odisha. This youth budget will be presented in the legislative assembly on the lines of climate and gender budgets,” the CM said.
The Nua O scholarships money will be increased to Rs 14,000 per annum for girls and Rs 12,000 per annum for boys.
Shri Patnaik announced to provide 2 lakh Government jobs will be provided in the next five years. Swayam Entrepreneurship Loans will be increased from one lakh to 2 lakh with extensive coverage.
The BJD Government will also develop 20 major cities namely Balangir, Koraput-Jeypore, Bargarh, Rayagada, Bhawanipatna, Paradip, Dhenkanal, Joda-Badabil, Keonjhar, Angul, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Paralakhemundi, Phulbani, Boudh, Sonepur, Deogarh, Kendrapara and Nayagarh.
The airport will have Laxmi bus connectivity with all the 20 major cities. The metro will connect Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Puri and Cuttack and will be expanded in a phased manner.
“Our special focus will be on the development of western and southern Odisha through the Biju Economic Corridor,” Shri Patnaik said.
The Chief Minister further stated that focus will be given on growth along with sustainability – meeting the needs of our present as well as future generations.
Stating that 75 percent of the households in Odisha are using 100 units of low consumption and another 10 percent are using 100 to 150 units, he announced consumers will get free power up to a 100 units and discounts for 50 units from 100 to 150.
The middle class has an important role to play in the growth story of Odisha. They will be empowered by providing BSKY coverage, interest subvention on home loans up to Rs 20 lakh, scholarships for children and interest subvention on loans for higher education as well as affordable transportation.
For women, the BJD chief said Odisha will be the first state in the country to provide loans up to Rs 15 lakh without interest. Over the next 5 years, our SHGs will get financial linkages of Rs 1.5 lakh crore and interest submersion of Rs 2500 crore.
To convert SHGs to small and medium enterprises, the SHGs will be provided government business worth Rs 20,000 crore in the next 10 years. Individual women entrepreneurs will be assisted with a corpus fund of Rs 100 crore to provide subsidized loans up to Rs 10 lakh to start and grow their business.
The introduction of our flagship scheme BSKY New Card will cover almost all categories. This will include the middle class, Government employees, contract workers in a phased manner. “We can become the state of the lowest expenditure on health in the next 10 years. This health assurance will empower our population and take our State forward,” Naveen said.
After coming to power for sixth time, the BJD Government will provide funds of Rs 1000 crore over a period of 10 years to provide a grant of Rs 1,00,000 per year to 10,000 ST, SC and OBC youths towards self employment.
The benefit scheme will accelerate the income from small forest produce collection, mainly encouraging tribals. About 10 lakh houses will be provided to all eligible families under the Rural Housing Scheme.
Crop loans up to 1.5 lakh will be made interest free while Rs 15,000 annually will be provided to the fishing community to bear the loss during fishing ban season.
For the promotion and preservation of rich culture and Odia language, he said a corpus of Rs 1000 crore will be segregated as a heritage development fund to preserve our places of worship, heritage sites and places associated with important personalities.
Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the development and promotion of Odia as a classical language. In the last 10 years, zero funds have been received from the Central Government for the promotion, promotion and research of Odia as a classical language, he announced.
“We would once again request the Centre to include Odissi music as classical music and include Ho, Mundari and Bhumij in the eighth schedule. We will set up a Centre of Excellence at Sambalpur University with a corpus fund of Rs 25 crore for the development of languages of Western Odisha and for research, study and research,” Patnaik said.
The Chief Minister has also announced Kalinga Shree and Kalinga Bhushan awards to be given every year on the lines of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.
Funds will be provided for the conservation of Bhagavat Tungi across the state. It will empower our youth to take pride in their culture, heritage and language and enable them to move forward in the future with confidence, he added.
