)
Keeping to its pre-poll promise, the Naveen Patnaik led BJD government today unveiled a comprehensive policy for women and girls, promising them an enabling environment and entitlement to a host of government facilities.
The State Cabinet today formally approved the ‘Odisha State Policy for Women & Girls’. Under this policy, houses and land bought in the name of women would attract lesser stamp duty registration charges.
Landless women in rural areas would be provided four decimal land by the government free of cost. The facility will also cover widows above the age of 45, divorcees and spinsters.
Women led SHGs (self-help groups) would be entitled to lease of government land at subsidized rates. Such SHGs would be eligible collectively for lease of land by the government for agriculture and horticulture purposes.
The policy has mooted regular meetings of the Mahila Sabhas on the lines of the existing gram sabhas.
Besides, for education of women and girls, Kasturba Gandhi residential girls’ school will be opened in every block of the state. To oversee police investigation in cases pertaining to atrocities against women, a special unit will be established within the state Home department. In addition to the dedicated policy for women and girls, the Cabinet today announced an exemption of two per cent each on market fee and sales tax on paddy sold by farmers outside the state. The Cabinet also approved the establishment of the Birla Global university in Odisha. The proposed university, envisioned as a world class institution, will come up at Gothpatna on the city's outskirts where the state government has leased out 30 acres of land. B K Birla controlled Birla Academy of Art & Culture will set up this university and as a pre-curser to the coming up of the university project, it has already set up Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) in the city.
Total project cost of the university is estimated at Rs 86 crore. The university envisages a total student strength of 995 with teaching staff of 79, 55 non-teaching staff and 25 visiting faculty. Faculty-student ratio has been pegged at 1:10.
In the first phase, the proposed Birla Global university will have eight schools- school of management, school of development & sustainability, school of communication, school of law, school of social science & humanities, school of architecture & planning, school of tribal studies and school of doctoral studies.
Four new schools are to be added in the second phase- school of design school of engineering & technology, school of international affairs and Centre of Odisha art & culture. The fee structure ranges from Rs 70,000 to Rs 330,000 depending on courses. The university proposes to reserve 30 per cent of its seats for Odisha students besides offering scholarship for SC/ST students.
