Bhubaneswar : In a major initiative to boost tribal empowerment in the state, the Odisha government Friday approved Rs 2,808.40 crore for implementation of the Millet Mission for six years from 2021-22 to 2026-27.
The approval was accorded at the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Officials said 16 major decisions relating to the departments of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, Planning and Convergence, Revenue and Disaster Management, Steel and Mines, and Water Resources, were taken at the meeting.
Those include a special programme for promotion of millets in tribal areas, execution of pipe water supply projects in Dhenkanal, Kendrapara and Balasore districts.
Projects dealing with rainwater harvesting and cyclone-resilient saline embankments also got the cabinet nod. The Odisha Millets Mission was launched by the state government in 2017 to revive millet farming in the state. Its area of implementation will be across 142 blocks in 19 districts from 2022-23 onwards, the officials said. PTI
