
BHUBANESWAR : Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday asked secretaries to achieve 100 per cent utilisation of funds in their respective departments within the next two months before the state government places its 2025-26 budget in the Assembly.
Presiding over the meeting of his council of ministers which stretched for more than five hours, the chief minister called upon the secretaries to move out of their perfunctory routines and strive for something new and innovative in departments under them to achieve the goals of Viksit Odisha.
“You should be innovative and try to implement long-term programmes. People-oriented welfare programmes should get priority,” he emphasised.
The chief minister said that the state government has received 3.20 lakh proposals and opinions for the Viksit Odisha Vision Document 2036. The government can accept good proposals and suggestions from these, he said and asked the top officials to strengthen functioning in their departments.
Majhi reviewed expenditure of funds allocated in the 2024-25 budget by different departments. He asked several departments which were lagging behind to speed up spending and reach the target of 100 per cent expenditure by the 2025-26 budget.
Implementation of different social security schemes, improvement in healthcare infrastructure and facilities, the survey to be conducted for identifying beneficiaries for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Rural, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and progress in piped drinking water schemes were reviewed specifically by the chief minister.
Besides, he reviewed the progress of construction of bridges and roads by the Works and Rural Development departments. He also discussed the condition of national highways in different areas of the state and wanted to know how their repair and upgradation can be expedited. He also discussed about the proposal to set up cold storages by the government and payment to beneficiaries of Subhadra scheme in fourth phase of the first installment.
The chief minister discussed the details of the Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha conclave to be organised by the state government on January 28 and 29 with the ministers and officials.
Chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, development commissioner Anu Garg and other senior officials were present.