BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to bring a bill in the ongoing Assembly session on the Northern Odisha Development Council (NODC) for which an allocation of Rs 200 crore has been made in the budget of 2025-26 fiscal.
Formation of the NODC was discussed in detail in the fourth meeting of the task force headed by Housing and Urban Development minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra on Wednesday.
Speaking to mediapersons, the minister said they have tentatively decided to include four districts - Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Bhadrak - in the NODC. “The task force will finalise the report and submit it to the chief minister by March 10. After receiving the CM’s approval, the report will be placed in the cabinet,” he said adding, after cabinet clearance, the bill for NODC will be placed in the House.
Stating that the four districts had not witnessed the required level of development in the past, Mahapatra said special funds are necessary for their all-round development.