Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today approved an additional grant of Rs 175.5 crore for the Special Development Council (SDC).
The grant will be spent on preserving the language, art, culture and heritage of the tribals. The additional grant will be available in addition to the current year’s normal grant of Rs.175.5 crore.
Secretary to CM (5T) VK Pandian informed about the approval of the additional grant while discussing with the SDC chairpersons.
The SDC will receive a total grant of Rs 351 crore this year. With this announcement, the chairpersons and members of the nine SDCs who were present during discussion through video conferencing expressed their happiness.
It is worth noting that the State Government has formed Special Development Councils for nine districts – Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Kandhamal, Sundargarh and Nabarangpur.