BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to resolve an issue persisting for the last six decades, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced that 2000 displaced families of the Hirakud dam project will be provided homestead land by the state government.
The Chief Minister made this announcement while virtually launching the distribution of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) smart health cards in Jharsuguda district. Naveen said that the provision of homestead land will resolve a long-standing problem of the displaced families.
Around 1.15 lakh people of the district will benefit from the initiative started by the state government. Jharsuguda has now become the 12th district in Odisha to be included in the BSKY smart health card scheme. The Chief Minister also started projects worth Rs 297 crore for the district which included the inauguration of projects worth Rs 144 crore and laying the foundation stone of Rs 153 crore. The projects included the inauguration of water treatment plants for Brajrajnagar and Jharsuguda.
Stating that drinking water projects worth Rs 618 crore are being implemented in Jharsuguda districts, the Chief Minister announced 1.22 lakh families will get safe drinking water in the district by June 2022. Besides, he said that irrigation facilities have been provided for 1000 acres of cultivable land through the Parvati Giri mega lift irrigation project. Work on four mega lift irrigation projects worth Rs 186 crore is in various stages of completion, he said, adding that irrigation facilities will be provided to the entire district soon.
The Chief Minister also announced that work on the Rs 102 crore cardiac hospital in the district will be completed soon. People can get better treatment facilities after the completion of the hospital, he said and added that the smart health cards will resolve financial problems faced by them.
Naveen paid rich tributes to freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai, Bihari Ram Tanti, Lakshmi Narayan Mishra and Chintamani Pujari during the function. Health and family welfare minister Naba Kishore Das, rural development minister Sushant Singh, Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari and Brajrajnagar MLA Kishore Mohanty attended the meeting.