Odisha CM Launches Third Phase Of Model School Scheme; Rs 1,292 Crore Projects Announced In Keonjhar

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday launched the third phase of the 'Godabarish Mishra Adarsha Primary School' scheme and unveiled development projects worth Rs 1,292 crore in Keonjhar district.

Under the third phase of the scheme, 630 model primary schools will be built across the state at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore. Of these, 35 have been earmarked for Keonjhar district.

Foundation stones have so far been laid for 952 model schools across the three phases, while the state government aims to establish 2,200 such institutions by 2029 at an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore.

Each school will be developed on five acres of land at locations with adequate communication facilities.

Majhi had laid the foundation stones for 118 such schools at Banpur, the birthplace of Pandit Godabarish Mishra, while 204 schools were taken up in the second phase.

The chief minister also inaugurated the south campus of Dharanidhar University, developed at a cost of Rs 14 crore.

He also laid the foundation stone for a 15-storey Tech-Business Park, to be built over 5.51 acres at a cost of Rs 237 crore. The facility is expected to generate employment opportunities for young people in northern Odisha.

"With these projects, the youth of Keonjhar will no longer need to travel to cities like Bangalore or Hyderabad. Instead, vast avenues for employment and progress have now opened up for them on their own home soil," Majhi said.

The chief minister also inaugurated a free Preventive Cancer Screening Centre on the premises of Dharanidhar Medical College. Described as the first of its kind in Odisha to rely entirely on indigenous technology, the facility has been set up with support from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) at a cost of around Rs 6 crore.

Majhi laid the foundation stones for a seven-storey dental college, to be built at Rs 58.40 crore, and a 10-storey nursing college, at a cost of Rs 63 crore. He also announced that a government pharmacy college would be established in the district.

Other facilities dedicated to the public included a maternal and child health department built at a cost of Rs 10 crore, a modular operation theatre complex, a multi-utility centre, a police outpost and a 30-person barrack. These facilities were developed at a combined cost of Rs 32 crore.

Of the 330 projects taken up during the event, 198, worth around Rs 412 crore, were inaugurated, while foundation stones were laid for 132 projects estimated to cost over Rs 880 crore.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)