BHUBANESWAR: Faced with an agrarian crisis and allegations of unfulfilled promises from the opposition political parties ahead of 2019 elections, BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has set a development agenda for party leaders, including all MLAs, to be propagated in their constituencies on the occasion of 21st foundation day celebrations of the regional outfit on Wednesday.
Instead of a high decibel event at the State party headquarters here, MLAs have been asked to concentrate in their respective areas and go to the people with achievements of the BJD Government. There will be no joining ceremony at the function to be addressed by the CM in the City. Some of the party MPs and MLAs of nearby constituencies and 5,000 workers are expected to attend the celebrations here. The focus of the foundation day celebrations across Odisha will be the fulfilment of promises made in the 2014 election manifesto by BJD which was adopted as the policy of the Government in the first meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The MLAs have been asked to convey to the people that during the last four and a half years, 18 lakh pucca houses have been constructed. Describing it as one of the top housing security schemes, the party said the remaining six lakh houses will be completed by March 5, 2019.
Another important promise made in the manifesto to give land titles for urban slum dwellers has impacted 10 lakh people. The success of the scheme has been described as historic and unprecedented. Besides, Odisha is the only State to double the income of farmers, the communication to MLAs said. Additional irrigation to nine lakh hectare of land has been achieved and the Government will meet the target of 10 lakh hectare by March 2019.
The BJD said one of the major achievements was the status of classical language to Odia. Besides, the Government organised the 22nd Asian Athletics Championship, sponsoring of the National Hockey Team by Odisha and successful completion of the Hockey World Cup which was held here recently. Food Grain production rose to an all-time high of 117 lakh tonnes and Odisha became one of the largest contributors to the PDS system of India. The decision to provide crop loans to sharecroppers was also another major achievement of the Government, the communication said.
Construction of Biju Expressway (connecting North and South Odisha) through KBK region, Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Setu over Mahanadi and Gurupriya bridge are other achievements in the infrastructure sector. Infant mortality rate dropped sharply and was lower than the national average.
Besides, 17 lakh households were electrified in the last four years and Special Development Council for nine tribal districts was formed to protect cultural identities among tribal groups.