Bhubaneswar: With an aim to preserve and renovate historic irrigation structures and showcasing Odisha’s traditional water management practices, the State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, has approved the Building Odisha’s Irrigation Tourism Amenities (BOITA) scheme.
The scheme will have an outlay of Rs 650 crore from the state’s own resources and will be implemented over five years from 2026-27 to 2030-31.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the initiative proposed by the Water Resource Department is also aimed at creating socio-economic opportunities in the regions by developing dedicated heritage irrigation structures as tourism attractions.
In another key decision, the Cabinet approved another Water Resources Department proposal for creating irrigation potential through deep borewells equipped with solar and non-solar pumping systems.
The scheme will have an outlay of Rs 8,653.04 crore from the state’s own resources and will be implemented over five years from 2026-27 to 2030-31. Under the initiative, 1.5 lakh deep borewell projects will be installed to create irrigation potential across 7.5 lakh hectares of land. The scheme will cover 26 districts and 256 blocks in Odisha.
The Cabinet also approved the Panchasakha Shikhya Setu Scheme proposed by the School and Mass Education Department to strengthen school education through a multi-stakeholder engagement model.
The scheme will provide a platform for donors to contribute funds, materials and services towards the overall development of government and government-aided schools across Odisha.
Under the scheme, the state government will provide a matching grant equivalent to twice the donor’s financial contribution, subject to a maximum government contribution of Rs 50 lakh. A government grant of Rs 312.96 crore will be spent on the scheme over five years from 2024-25 to 2028-29.
The decisions were taken at the 47th meeting of the Odisha Cabinet, which approved a total of 18 proposals from 12 departments on Monday.
According to the Chief Secretary, the proposals approved at the meeting included one each from the MSME Department, Industries Department and Finance Department; three from the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department; two from the Water Resources Department; four from the Works Department; and one each from the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department, School and Mass Education Department, Law Department, Energy Department and General Administration and Public Grievance Department.
The Cabinet also approved one proposal from the Parliamentary Affairs Department for convening the second session of the 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly.
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