Bhubaneswar: On the completion of the first year of the fifth term of the BJD government, the state Cabinet Friday approved 22 proposals including empowering state-run Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) to allot lands for tourism projects.
Briefing the media after the meeting, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy said to attract investment in tourism sector, land allotment provision in Odisha Tourism Policy-2016 has been amended by the Cabinet. All tourism projects including hotels, restaurants will be allotted land through Idco. Earlier, land for these projects was provided by Idco as well as district Collectors, he said.
A proposal for recognising undergraduate courses in agriculture and allied subjects as professional degree courses was also approved. This will enhance the employability of students passing out from institutions like OUAT, he said.
The Cabinet has also granted permission to allow workers to work 115 hours overtime in three months. Women workers can now be engaged in all small and large-scale industries. “The government has finalised detailed guidelines for their safety and security during night hours,” Tripathy said.
The Chief Secretary said that Aska Co-operative Sugar Industries Ltd had been given a guarantee of Rs 15 crore to avail cash credit. Aska Co-op Central Bank had already drawn the amount. The Cabinet gave the post-facto approval in the meeting.
The government approved a proposal to lease 3.50 acre government land in Hidigaon village under Sadar tehsil of Balasore in favour of NDRF for stationing one company of 03 BN NDRF, Mundali at Balasore, said Tripathy.
The Cabinet has given post-facto approval to two ordinances to boost agriculture activities. The two ordinances are – Odisha Agricultural Produce & Livestock Contract Farming Services (promotion & facilitation) Ordinance 2020; and the Odisha Agricultural Produce & Livestock Marketing (promotion & facilitation) Ordinance 2020.
Stating that the state will encourage contract farming, Tripathy said it will cover production, post-harvest and marketing and help agricultural entrepreneurs aggregate produce in a better manner. New investment in agriculture will be a win-win situation for farmers, he said.
In another decision, the government allowed OREDA (Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency) to be transferred to the Energy department from Science & Technology department for better management of renewable sources of power.
To encourage setting up of more schools in Odisha, the government will charge only Re 1 as rent/cess from Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Nabodaya Vidyalayas in the state.
Diluting the existing norms, the government has allowed private dealers engaged in public distribution system (PDS) to function for another year. The period has been extended from four to five years.
Certain administrative steps for better implementation of Society Registration Act 1860 have been taken by the government. It includes online renewal for societies, audit, set up of an institution of Civil Judge to adjudicate differences among members of the society and renew of the registration in every five years. Among other decisions, a tender worth Rs 230.93 crore for construction of a canal was passed by the Cabinet. OAS posts have been increased from 996 to 1,188.