Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chairing a meeting of his Council of Ministers on the occasion of completion of the BJD Government’s four years during its fourth term here on Monday advised the party leaders and officials to work for the people with ‘3Ds’- Determination, Devotion and Dedication.
Later at a Press meet, he highlighted 10 major achievements of his Government and thanked the four crore people of the State for the tremendous faith they have reposed on the BJD Government and its commitment and capabilities of working towards an empowered Odisha.
At Council of Ministers meeting expressed indebtedness to the 4.5 crore people of Odisha for their faith in our commitment & capability for an #EmpoweredOdisha & pledged to work hard every minute to honour their faith with Dedication, Determination & Devotion.
Full text of my address below:
On This day May 21st, 2014 we took oath of office, having been blessed by the people of Odisha. And today as we complete four years, it is important to look at what we have achieved.
As a measure of the depth of our commitment to the people – in our first meeting of the Council of Ministers after taking oath of office, we resolved to adopt our Manifesto as the policy of Government.
Some of our major achievements since then have been:
One of our topmost promises was housing security- to convert all kucha houses to pucca houses. Odisha is a trailblazer at the national level in rural housing. In the last 4 years nearly 17 lakh pucca houses have been constructed. The remaining 7 lakh houses will be completed by March 5th as a humble tribute to the great Biju Babu.
We have enacted historic legislation to enable slum dwellers in urban areas to have land and property rights. Nearly 10 lakh people will be empowered through this initiative – unprecedented in the world in its scope and scale.
Agriculture is the mainstay of our population and we are the only State to have doubled farmers incomes in the last decade. We promised 10 lakh hectares of additional irrigation potential. We have already achieved 7 lakh hectares and we are racing towards achieving the target by April 1st 2019. Food grain production is at an all time high of 117 lakh Metric tonnes. Odisha is one of the highest contributors to the nation’s food security. My Government has always focussed on vulnerable groups in every sector. Share croppers will be provided crop loans and our farmers in rainfed areas will get remunerative prices under the Millets Mission.
Providing Connectivity is a priority for my Government. Odisha leads the country in the construction of rural roads with a record 22,500 kilometres in the last 4 years. 600 bridges have been constructed under the Biju Setu Yojana. Biju Expressway connecting North and South Odisha passing through the KBK region is on target. The Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Setu over Mahanadi and key bridges over Ib river and Kathjodi were completed in record time and reduced distances considerably. The Gurupriya bridge in Malkangiri will also be operational shortly.
Health for all is our mission. 4 new medical colleges have started at Koraput, Baripada, Balasore and Bolangir and 5 more are in the offing. Odisha has had the sharpest decline in Infant Mortality among all the states and is today better than the national average.
Women’s Empowerment underlies all our schemes and initiatives. More than 30 lakh women have availed the benefits of the Mamata Yojana. Nearly 70 lakh women are part of Mission Shakti. 50 percent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions has ensured strong representation of women in decision making platforms.
Education and Skill Development are critical to empower our next generation. 190 Adarsh Vidyalayas or Model schools have been made operational with more than 56 thousand students. Education loans at 1% and scholarships for nearly 20 lakh students seek to bridge the gap in education. Mo School campaign is an innovative intervention to link community and alumni to their alma maters.
The Odisha Skill Mission was set up to Skill 11 lakh aspiring youth. We have already trained 9 lakh young people as part of our commitment to provide employment and strengthen livelihoods.
Employment oriented Industrial growth has been our focus. Nearly 1.8 lakh crores worth of projects have been initiated with an employment potential of 1.32 lakhs. In the last 4 years, exports have increased over two and half times with the highest growth rate in the country. Odisha is ranked as the champion State in exports. We top the country in live manufacturing investments.
17 lakh households have been electrified in the last 4 years and we are on target to provide electricity to all households by October 2nd.
Drinking water has been a major focus for our Government. Atleast 2 villages in every Panchayat will be provided piped water supply by the end of this year.
Inclusive growth is our driving force. Special Development Councils have been constituted in 9 tribal districts to preserve and protect unique cultural identities among our tribal groups. These Councils will have representation from all the tribal groups that they constitute.
Odia language has been accorded the status of a classical language and the Special Cabinet held at Puri on 26th December 2017 took several decisions to promote our mother tongue in all walks of life.
In Odisha Sports is life. We hosted the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in a record 90 days. Our people’s love for hockey prompted us to become the sponsors for our National teams and it is indeed a matter of pride for us when Team India sports the Odisha jersey and logo.
I am indebted to the 4 and half crore people of Odisha who have faith in our commitment and capability for working towards an empowered Odisha.
3Ts of Transparency, Teamwork and Technology will be our mantra to bring about this transformation.
Let us all pledge to work hard every minute to honour the faith of our people with Dedication, Determination and Devotion.
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