Bhubaneswar: In a step aimed at giving more power to women, the state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Thursday approved amendment to OCS (RA) Rules, 2020 paving way for appointment of married daughters and stepdaughters of government employees on compassionate grounds.
Addressing media after the Cabinet meeting here, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja said as per existing provision of the OCS (RA) Rules, 2020, unmarried daughters and stepdaughters of deceased government employees were being considered for compassionate appointment.
“However, after amendment of the OCS (RA) Rules, 2020, married daughters and stepdaughters of deceased government employees will also be considered for compassionate appointment subject to conditions that their ‘dependency’ on their parents is proved,” Ahuja pointed out.
The Cabinet also approved the proposal to transfer 95 per cent of equity shares of Gopalpur Ports Limited (GPL) to Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Limited from Shapoorji Pallonji Port Maintenance Private Limited and Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL).
APSEZ had purchased a 56 per cent stake in GPL from real-estate conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) and a 39 per cent stake from OSL, Ahuja told reporters.
“APSEZ will have 95 per cent stake in the port project, the remaining 5 per cent will remain with OSL.”
“Following the due procedure, the Cabinet has approved the proposal to transfer of equity share to APSEZ from Shapoorji Pallonji Port Maintenance Private Limited and from OSL along with permission to sign the revised concession agreement thereof towards the development and expansion of GPL,” an official note said.
The port, which handles bulk cargo, including iron ore, coal, limestone and alumina, after expansion will handle multi cargo, said Commerce and Transport (C&T) Principal Secretary Usha Padhee.
The facility, initially managed by the C&T department as a fair-weather lighterage port, operated only during the favourable weather conditions.
Recognising its potential for economic development and its impact on the socio-economic life of Odisha’s people, the state government decided in 2003 to transfer it into an all-weather deep berthing seaport through a PPP in the Build Own Operate Share Transfer (BOOST) mode and GPL won the bid through a competitive process.
GPL, a consortium of OSL, Noble Group Limited and Sara International Limited, with 34 per cent, 33 per cent and 33 per cent share, respectively, developed the port. Shareholding changed in 2010 and 2017.
Currently, handling 11.43 million metric tonne per annum of cargo, GPL shares 7.5 per cent of its gross revenue with the state government. The revenue share for the 2023-24 fiscal is approximately Rs 38 crore, an official said, adding that the port employs around 4,000 people in direct and indirect. The expansion is expected to boost revenue and employment, he said.
The state Cabinet also gave its nod to Odisha Ex-Agniveers (Recruitment to Uniform Services) Rules, 2024 that would reserve 10 per cent seats for ex-Agniveers in the uniform services.
“With this, ex-Agniveers will get 10 per cent horizontal reservation in all Group C and D posts in direct recruitment in the uniform services of the state like police, forest, excise and fire,” the Chief Secretary said.
Such reservation shall be over and above the reservation applicable for ex-servicemen provided they fulfil the required minimum qualifications prescribed for the posts in the relevant recruitment rules as on the date of award of Agniveer certificate. There will be a three-year age relaxation in the prescribed upper age limit for ex-Agniveers in all Group C and D posts in direct recruitment in the uniform services and exemption from physical efficiency test, he said.
PNN & Agencies