SAMBALPUR: The Central government will establish a state-of-the-art fish processing training centre in western Odisha at a cost of around Rs 100 crore, announced Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan here on Monday.
Attending the ‘Kisan Samman Samaroh’ on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of PM-KISAN Yojana in Sambalpur, Pradhan said plans are also afoot to set up an ESI hospital in the region. Work has started on revitalising the Nildungri market terminal proposal.
He further announced that there is a plan to convert the College of Agriculture, Chiplima into a separate agricultural school. Agroforestry course for forest produce is also on the cards.
“Our goal is to bring fulfilment in the lives of around 15 million people who live in Sambalpur district. The Narendra Modi government with its Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas mantra is committed to make Sambalpur a centre of agriculture and rural-based economy,” he said.
The union minister said under the double-engine government in the state, 1.20 lakh farmers of Sambalpur have received benefits of Rs 120 crore under PM-KISAN and CM-KISAN schemes. In the district, around 32 lakh quintal of paddy worth Rs 976 crore have been procured at a revised MSP of Rs 3,100 per quintal. “Of the total amount, the Central government has paid `724 crore for the paddy purchased from farmers and the state has borne the rest Rs 252 crore,” he said.
Pradhan said PM Modi disbursed the 19th installment of PM-KISAN to 9.80 crore farmers of the country including Odisha through video-conferencing from Bhagalpur in Bihar on Monday. Around 61,237 farmers of Sambalpur district have received around Rs 12 crore rupees under the scheme. On the occasion, assistance under ‘Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana’ was also disbursed to various farmers.
This apart, 2.60 lakh women in Sambalpur have received about Rs 260 crore under Subhadra Yojana. Women have been provided interest-free loans of more than Rs 425 crore. Moreover, around Rs 5,000 crore was provided as loans to farmers at low interest rates, he added.
Earlier in the day, Pradhan attended a mass cleaning drive in Sambalpur Municipal Corporation area and inaugurated a few projects.