Odisha’s most popular and longest serving Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today turned 74. At this age, Naveen is young at heart and mind, and cares for his family of 4.5 crore people of Odisha than anyone else. With the charisma of a true statesman and mass leader, Naveen is the source of inspiration and beacon of hope for a new Odisha. His visionary leadership has steered Odisha on the path of sustained and inclusive development and scale new heights of glory in all aspects.
Naveen, who has been leading the development and transformation of Odisha as the Chief Minister since 2000, is unarguably the most successful and popular Chief Minister in India because of his crystal clean image, austere life and transparent government. A staunch crusader of socio-economic development, Naveen Patnaik’s pro-people and development-oriented policies have helped Odisha to come out of the shackles of poverty and shine as one of the fastest developing states in the country. With his sheer commitment to the cause of the masses, he has won the hearts of the people and enjoys unparalleled support and affection of the people.
Ruling the state for nearly two decades, the five-time Chief Minister maintains a very low profile in public life and continues to lead a life of austerity donning a white kurta-pyjama and a pair of chappals. He displays an aura of quiet confidence and strength, and enjoys the larger than life popularity. The constant electoral success has only made him more humble and even more reticent.
Taking over the reins of Odisha at its most turbulent time in the aftermath of the devastating 1999 Super Cyclone, Naveen Patnaik has ushered the State into the new era of development.
Naveen’s two decades of political leadership has been the Odisha’s successful journey towards transformation and development.
As the beloved Chief Minister of Odisha turns 74 today, the Newsroom.co.in makes an honest attempt to highlight some of the major achievements of Odisha under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik.
Naveen’s Govt is a Govt of Life: Today the world is fighting a war against Coronavirus (COVID-19), an invisible and alien enemy about which a little is known. There has been significant loss to mankind from this unknown adversary. Saving lives is the priority at this juncture, caring the disadvantaged with a human touch is also the call of the hour. While the governments around the world are trying their best to contain the disease, Odisha, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has approached the crisis in a truly positive spirit and has successfully demonstrated that problems can be tackled easily withdisciplined management. The World Health Organization (WHO) has appreciated the State for its successful and efficient COVID management.
Global Benchmark in Disaster Management: Odisha is one of the most vulnerable States to natural calamities, witnessing major disasters every year often. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik commenced his fifth term in office in May 2019 in the backdrop of havoc caused by cyclone Fani – the intensity of which was equal to the super cyclone of 1999. In spite of the colossal disaster caused by that cyclone, the loss of human lives was very minimal. It was attributed to the high global benchmark of governance in managing that natural disaster and shifting a million people to shelter homes in a record time of four days. It was just an example of high global benchmark of Odisha in managing a natural disaster. The State under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik has successfully handled major disasters like Fani and has earned global recognition.
Women Empowerment: In the words of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, empowerment of women is the empowerment of the nation. No household, no society, no state, no country has ever moved forward without empowering its women.
The Naveen-led government has taken several exemplary steps to politically and economically empower women. The historic decision of Naveen Patnaik to field women candidates in 33 per cent of Lok Sabha seats during general elections of 2019 heralded a new era of political empowerment of women in the country. Such a bold decision resulted in setting an example for rest of the country and indeed the world.
Similarly, Mission Shakti has shown the world that successful women empowerment has the trickle down impact on the economy, livelihood, social development, healthcare and education of the state. From a humble beginning in the year 2001, Mission Shakti today has become a force to be reckoned with. It has become a revolution today and brought under its ambit more than 70 lakh self-help group (SHG) members. Several decisions for economic empowerment of these women have been taken and one particular decision – to outsource a number of activities of the Government to these women self-help groups, has created huge opportunities for them to stand on their own for their economic betterment.
Mo Sarkar: “Mo Sarkar” (My Government) is a historic and landmark initiative by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for making governance people centric and categorically reaffirming at the practical level that people are the real masters and people’s representatives and public officials are there to serve them and not to act as their lords. Mo Sarkar mandates that people visiting the Government offices are treated with dignity and their grievances are dealt with and monitored with utmost sincerity. Such ideas of governance leading to service of people with dignity meant bringing about transformation of the way in which the Government functions. The adoption of five Ts- Technology, Transparency, Timely completion of work, Team work and Transformation- which remain at the core of the idea of Mo Sarkar, has made the government accountable to the people and the drive to get people’s voices heard in every aspect of governance as well as public service delivery.
Farmer Empowerment & Agriculture Development: Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for majority of the population. Nearly 48% of the manpower is engaged in the agriculture sector. Odisha is the only state in the country to have doubled farmers’ income in the last decade. From a rice deficit State, Odisha is now the third largest contributor to the PDS system in the country.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s innovative schemes like “Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation” have ensured farmers’ empowerment. KALIA is the biggest ever individual beneficiary scheme in the history of Odisha. This path breaking scheme has been an eye opener for many States and the Central Government. Food production in the State has multiplied over the years and is sustainable. The hard working farmers of Odisha are responsible for the State getting the prestigious KRISHI KARMAN award five times since 2013-14.
Transformation of Puri into World Heritage City: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s decision to transform the pilgrim city of Puri into a world heritage site by clearing commercial buildings and centuries-old dilapidated structures around 75 meters of the sacred shrine has added a glorious chapter in the history of Odisha. Such measures were never taken in the past. The magnificence and majesty of the sacred temple of Lord Jagannath has been reinstated with the restoration of the expansive space surrounding the shrine which attracts devotees and visitors from across the world. Similarly, the transformation of the sacred Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar is another major initiative of the government in promoting heritage sites. The State Government has also allotted funds for repair and beautification of several mosques and churches. It affirms the Naveen Government’s commitment to respect all faiths equally and uphold secularism.
Universal Health Care and SCB Transformation : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s vision to provide Universal Health Care is well reflected in the BSKY scheme that assures free health services to all the people from Sub-centre to Medical Colleges. Besides, over 70 lakh economically vulnerable families in the State are provided annual Health coverage of Rs.5 lakh per family and Rs.10 lakh for the women members of the family. Apart from providing free universal health care services, the Government has taken a major decision to transform the premier Government medical college of the State, Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital (SCB Medical College) to a world class medical institute. Such a decision would enable people of the State to look for world class medical facilities within the State.
Odisha Now Sports Hub of the Country: In the last two decades, the sports infrastructure in the state has undergone massive transformation. With a humble beginning from hockey turfs in Bhubaneswar and Sundergarh, Odisha today has become the sports capital of the country. Successful organization of international sports events has caught the limelight of national and international even managers. Spending on sports infrastructure in the state in the last two decades has increased manifolds. Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar today is the state of the art sporting complex for athletics too. Odisha successfully organised Asian Athletics Championships, Women’s Gold Cup Football, Men’s FIH Olympic Qualifiers, Women’s FIH Olympic Qualifiers, Men’s Hockey Series Finals, Men’s Hockey World Cup, Men’s FIH Hockey World League, Hockey Champions Trophy, National Open Athletics Championships and many more events. The state is going to again host the FIH 2023 World Cup Hockey tournament in the year 2023 – a recognition for its commitment to furtherance of sports.
Poverty Eradication: Odisha, which was once infamous for hunger, poverty, and starvation deaths, now is one of the most steadily growing states in India. Its economic growth rate is much higher than the national average. The State has recorded the highest drop in poverty rate with nearly 8 million people being lifted above the poverty line in the last 10 years.
Land Rights to Forest and Slum Dwellers: Odisha has taken a bold step to empower the common people by giving them land rights over where they reside. For the people living in forest areas, the state government has taken the step to provide them land rights. Under the Forest Rights Act, the state has given land titles to more than 4.36 lakh people dwelling in forest areas. Likewise, the government has also taken steps to give the slum dwellers a respective life with entitlement for land. Odisha’s JAGA Mission or the Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission (OLHM) that aims for empowering urban poor in the state won the bronze at the World Habitat Awards.
Economic Growth: Under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, Odisha’s economy is consistently growing at a higher rate compared to the national growth. During last seven years, the average growth rate of Odisha has remained about 8 percent compared to national average of about 6.9 percent. In spite of slowdown in global and national economy, Odisha’s economy continues to thrive. Along with its Manufacturing sector, the Information Technology and software industry is also experiencing robust growth.
Special Development Council: Creation of Special Development Councils (SDCs) is a path-breaking initiative for development of tribal communities in the State. The SDCs formed in the nine districts, such as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Nabarangapur, where the tribals comprise about 50 per cent of the total population of the districts, help in preserving tribal culture, art, tradition, language and talents. Odisha is the first State in the country to have such councils for tribal development.
Reforms in Higher Education System: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has implemented a slew of reformative measures to strengthen the higher education system in Odisha. The latest initiative is the University Amendment Bill, 2020, which seeks to bring a paradigm shift the way the govt-run universities in the State are functioning. It is a pragmatic step in the right direction in ensuring quality education, efficient faculty staff and quality research in the universities in Odisha.