Bhubaneswar: A meeting of the State Cabinet is scheduled to be held Monday evening. The meeting, which will be held via video conferencing at around 5 PM, will be chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The CM would be attending the virtual meeting from his residence, Naveen Niwas, while ministers of all departments are likely to take part in the discussion from their respective district headquarters.
The agenda of the Cabinet meet is yet to be known. However, as the meeting has been convened suddenly, it is expected many key proposals will likely get a nod today, one of those being the development of Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar.
A few days ago, CM Naveen had visited the 11th-century shrine to review the ongoing developmental works of the temple area and instructed to expedite the work. The Ekamra Kshetra Development Projects being carried out around Lingaraj temple is a part of beautification drive to protect and preserve the cultural heritage and monuments.
Following a discussion with the servitors of the ancient shrine, Patnaik had announced that a special act would be formulated for Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar on same lines of the mega heritage corridor project of Puri Srimandir. The Chief Minister had further expressed gratitude to people who gave away their lands for the heritage development project around the temple.
"Thank the people who donated land for the ongoing infrastructure works around Lingaraj Temple and for their unflinching support to preserve Odisha’s glorious heritage for the future generation. Their continued support will transform the area around the iconic Utkal architecture," the CM said.
A decision on Lingaraj temple development and beautification is likely on the cards. This apart, the Odisha government will probably take a few more important decisions during the State Cabinet meeting today.
In the last meeting on December 9, the State Cabinet had given a go-ahead to several proposals including the construction of two new Medical College & Teaching Hospitals in Kandhamal and Koraput; apart from approving two rural piped water supply projects worth Rs 724 crore for Bargarh.
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