BJD Govt Completes First Month of Fifth Term, Focuses on More Citizen-Centric Governance, Inclusive Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal government-led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday completed the first month of the fifth term in office. The massive mandate to the BJD in the 2019 elections has shown that the people of Odisha once again reposed their faith on the leadership of Naveen Patnaik and good work of his government. The mandate also showcases Naveen’s untiring journey towards achieving a new Odisha, an inclusive Odisha where the fruits of the development reach every segment of the society.

Although, one month is not enough time to count the achievements or lament the failures of any government, but it certainly gives enough indication about the strategies and approaches of the government towards achieving its predetermined goals.

Naveen Patnaik, who become Chief Minister of Odisha for record fifth time in a row, has summarized the primary goal of his government in the 16th Odisha Legislative Assembly with these words:

“An empowered, inclusive Odisha is our goal and people of Odisha have blessed us to realize this goal. My government will leave no stone unturned towards achieving this goal”.

Naveen Patnaik’s BJD Government, which enjoys trust and confidence of the people because of its pioneering role in transforming Odisha from a poor state to become one of the fastest growing economies of the country, from a food deficit to rice surplus state and from a helpless state to become role model in setting global standard in disaster management in the last 19 years, has emphasized on delivering clean, transparent and citizen-centric governance.

In line with its commitment and tradition, the first meeting of the Council of Ministers adopted in principle the BJD’s election manifesto as the government programme for the next five years.

The Chief Minister has very clearly informed his Council of Ministers that his government would have to apprise the people about the implementation of promises made during the elections because they are at the centre of all governance initiatives. He also categorically told his Ministers to submit monthly report cards on steps taken by their departments for implementing the election manifesto.

Besides ministers, the Chief Minister also advised the Civil Servants to be prudent to solve the problems of people and deliver public services.

Naveen has been stressing on a progressive model of governance this time with utmost priority on agriculture development, poverty alleviation, women empowerment, development of weaker sections of the society and creation of employment opportunities for youth among others.

The BJD Government has taken several major decisions in the first month in office, including enhancement of heath cover assistance for women to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 7 lakh under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.  The Government has also expanded the scope of the widely-appreciated KALIA scheme, which will now cover 75 lakh farmers. The first budget of the fifth BJD government has been presented in the Assembly reflecting the aspirations of people.

When it comes to dealings with the Central Government, the Odisha Government has made it clear that it will continue to pursue the policy of constructive cooperation with the Centre and the only agenda would be the state’s development and welfare of people.

It was evident when Naveen extended full support to the idea of ‘one nation, one election’ at the all-party chiefs’ meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi saying that frequent elections affect the pace of development and rock the spirit of cooperative federalism. At the same time, the BJD continues to fight against negligence towards Odisha by the central government on issues, such as special category status, Polavaram and Mahanadi dispute etc.