Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday decided to implement special purpose vehicle (SPV) for development in the mining periphery areas in eight districts.
This was discussed at a high-level meeting presided over by chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here.
Informing the media after the meeting, principal secretary, Forest and Environment, Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said about Rs 900 crore would be spent for infrastructure development of 508 villages in 33 blocks and 64 gram panchayats lying in the periphery of the mineral bearing areas in Keonjhar, Angul, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Dhenkanal, Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Koraput districts.
“It was also decided that 50 percent of the money, deposited in the additional CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) for diversion of forest, would be spent for the infrastructure development while priority would be given on conversion of kutcha houses into pucca houses, drinking water supply and sanitation in these villages,” Mohapatra said.
He said the state government has formed Mineral Bearing Development Corporation (MBDC) as the SPV with the chief secretary as its chairman.
“Work will start very soon after the approval of the detailed project report (DPR) by the SPV,” he added.
Stating that a meeting of the Board of Directors of MBDC would be convened very soon, Mohapatra said the infrastructure development work would be implemented through the line departments like the Panchayati Raj and Revenue and Disaster Management.