The State Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to provide a Government guarantee for Rs 2,600 crore for loans to be incurred by the Gridco during the 2020-21 financial year.
The Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, approved as many as 18 proposals.The Government guarantee would enable the Gridco to get about 2%-interest concession from banks, said Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy.He said the Gridco would reduce the electricity supplier’s financial cost and in turn the retail tariff for industries, MSMEs and general consumers.The Cabinet also approved a Supplementary Budget of Rs 11,200 crore to be tabled in the upcoming State Assembly on November 20.
It also approved the turnkey tender of the NCC Limited amounting to Rs 461.25 crore for construction of Jagannath Ballav Pilgrim Centre, market complex and Shree Setu along with extension of Musa river at Puri under the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) Scheme. The work would be completed within a period of 30 months, said Tripathy.
The Cabinet also nodded a proposal to alienate acquired Government and private land for ‘Heritage Security Corridor around Shree Jagannath Temple in favour of Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee on free of premium, incidental charges, annual ground rent and cess and to correct the Record of Rights in the name of Lord Jagannath.
The Cabinet decided to accept the recommendation of the State Law Commission and take steps for enactment of the Odisha Appropriation Act (Repeal) Act, 2020 which will repeal as many as 215 Appropriation Acts, which are of no use now.
The Cabinet also approved enactment of Odisha Laboratory Assistants in Government Engineering Schools /Polytechnics (Methods of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2020 regulating the method of recruitment and conditions of service of the personnel inducted to Odisha Laboratory Assistants’ Service in Government Engineering Schools and Polytechnics under the administrative control of Director of Technical Education and Training.
The Food and Procurement Policy for kharif marketing season 2020-21 also got Cabinet nod. The State would procure an approximately 48 lakh metric tonnes in terms of rice. For kharif, the tentative target for procurement of paddy is 54 lakh metric tones; and for rabi it is 17 lakh metric tonnes. However, there would be no bar for procurement of any higher quantum of paddy. Besides, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Nursing Cadre Rules. The Staff Nurses would, henceforth, be designated as Nursing Officers, Matrons as Deputy Nursing Superintendents, Assistant Matrons as Assistant Nursing Superintendents and Chief Matron as Nursing Superintendent. The services of Nurses and Matrons appointed on temporary basis would be regularised after six years. The upper age limit for appointment of nurses was increased to 45 years.
To provide various support to farmers to help them meet the losses caused by Covid, the Cabinet nodded promulgation of an Agriculture Production and Animal Husbandry Ordinance.