BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday announced that the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting will be held in Puri next year.
On his return from the EZC meeting held at Ranchi, Majhi said he requested Union Home minister Amit Shah to hold the meeting in Odisha, which he has agreed and suggested Puri as the venue.
Majhi said the EZC meeting on the day was successful and focused on accelerating social and economic development in the region comprising Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar. The meeting prioritised reaching out to inaccessible areas and promoting development in those regions.
He also highlighted the importance of providing banking facilities to areas that still lack access to such services. Stating that these four states have an important role to play in achieving the Viksit Bharat goal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Majhi said discussions were held on how to achieve the target.
The states also discussed the issues of Naxalism and congratulated the Home minister for the success in reducing their presence through his focused approach to eliminate the menace.
The chief minister said he has urged the Centre to direct commercial banks at the apex level to open brick and mortar (B&M) branches in the unbanked gram panchayats (GPs) in view of the low geographical penetration of the banking system in the state.
Necessary steps should also be taken for redressal of the internet connectivity issues at the GP level for encouraging banks to open B&M branches.
Speaking at the meeting, he pointed out that of 6,794 GPs in the state, only 2,421 have B&M branches while the banks do not have any presence in the remaining 4,373. Though 42,035 fixed point banking correspondents (BCs) are operating in the state as on December 31, 2024, these have high attrition and their own limitations in terms of services offered and cash handling, he added.
Stating that Odisha has made rapid strides in several sectors and become a model for other states to follow, the chief minister said in renewable energy, it is the first state in eastern India to formulate an Energy Transition Action Plan. The plan aims to achieve 40 per cent RE share by 2030, in line with the Odisha Renewable Energy Policy 2022 and the Panchamrit goals. A Renewable Research Institute is being established to promote renewable energy across the eastern region, he said.
Odisha has also proposed the establishment of a Regional Research and Testing Laboratory of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) at Bhubaneswar to serve the eastern zone’s technical needs. Stating that the state remains deeply committed to the holistic empowerment of women and children, the chief minister said in 2025-26, the government has proposed a substantial outlay of `15,222.85 crore for this sector, with a focus on scheme implementation and administrative strengthening.
The chief minister also highlighted the success of various schemes in Odisha, including women’s empowerment, the success of the Sri Anna Yojana, and Ayushman Bharat scheme. The meeting was informed about various programmes including women’s empowerment and the success of these schemes.
Overall, the meeting aimed to bring together stakeholders to discuss development initiatives and find ways to address the region’s challenges, Majhi said.