BHUBANESWAR: The Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment department has come under the purview of Mo Sarkar programme and 5T initiative from Thursday.
Announcing the Government decision, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said inclusion of the department in Mo Sarkar is a strong step towards empowerment of farmers.
Stating that farmers are owners of the department, he said all officials and employees should sincerely work for their welfare.
Naveen said he will talk to farmers over phone to ascertain if they are satisfied with the services provided by the Government.
If the feedback from farmers is good, employees will be felicitated but if they are not happy, strong action will be taken against employees, he said.
Recalling the super cyclone of 1999 which hit the State, the Chief Minister said at that time Odisha had to depend on other States for providing relief to affected people.
The situation has now undergone a sea change and Odisha is third in the country in providing foodgrains for public distribution system (PDS), he said.
Odisha has also received Krushi Karman Award five times, Naveen said and added that the credit for spectacular turnaround in the agricultural sector should go to the farmers.
“The State Government always gives priority to farmers welfare and development of agriculture in Odisha,” he said.
Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Arun Kumar Sahu and Principal Secretary in the department Saurav Garg also spoke.
Secretary of 5T initiative VK Pandian had a detailed discussion with employees of the department to make them understand the Mo Sarkar programme. Collectors and agriculture officials of all the 30 districts attended the function through video conference.
The Higher Education department which was brought under Mo Sarkar prepared a 17-point action plan to ensure better and timely service delivery.
The department has decided to form a Scholarship Council and Odisha Scholarship Council (OSC) will regulate distribution of scholarship and ensure coordination among departments.
A district or block-wise list of students will be prepared for distribution of free laptops, while a programme will be implemented for motivating teachers for exposure visit outside the State or country.
Higher Education Minister Arun Sahu said a uniform transfer policy for teaching and non-teaching staff in colleges will be implemented and teachers attendance (seven-hour duty) will be monitored through biometric device.
“Incentives will be provided to colleges and teachers for getting accredited under NAAC and also moving to higher ranks. Aspiration of students passing Plus II in educationally disadvantaged blocks will be taken care of so that they can study degree courses, especially in science,” he added.
Success so far
Odisha has emerged as the third State in the entire country in providing foodgrains for PDS
The State has received Krushi Karman Award five times
Priority has been given to welfare of farmers and development of agriculture
Focus is on doubling farmers’ income in convergence mode