The Odisha government on Tuesday approved a package of school-education and urban-development measures, headlined by free textbooks for an estimated 28.7 lakh students and a ₹500-crore programme to fix storm-water drainage in cities.
The decisions were among 16 proposals cleared at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, covering 11 departments. Chief Secretary Anu Garg briefed reporters in Bhubaneswar after the meeting.
Free textbooks for Classes 9 and 10
The free-textbook scheme will cover students of Classes 9 and 10 in government and government-aided secondary schools, excluding those already covered under SC/ST provisions, who already receive textbooks. It will run for five years, from 2025-26 to 2029-30, with a total estimated outlay of ₹284.07 crore and a tentative beneficiary count of 28.7 lakh.
Procurement of paper, printing, transport and distribution will be carried out through a transparent competitive process under the Odisha General Financial Rules, according to the official briefing.
₹500-crore urban drainage programme
The Cabinet also approved the Urban Storm Water Drainage Management and Improvement Programme, with a ₹500-crore outlay funded from state resources over five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The programme will cover urban local bodies and selected block headquarters, focusing on desilting, RCC stormwater drains and measures to reduce waterlogging and localised flooding.
The move comes amid a row over errors in school textbooks — more than 1,600 mistakes, including spelling errors and incorrect names of eminent personalities, were found across 55 supplied textbooks, prompting the opposition to demand the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond.
Data centre at Keonjhar
Also approved was a Disaster Recovery-cum-Data Centre at Keonjhar, costing over ₹176 crore — ₹154 crore in capital expenditure and ₹22.83 crore in operating expenses over five years — to serve as a disaster-recovery twin for the Bhubaneswar State Data Centre.
Sources:
- Odisha Cabinet approves free textbooks for 28.7 lakh students, Rs 500-crore urban drainage scheme — ThePrint (PTI)
- Odisha Cabinet approves free textbooks for 28.7 lakh students, ₹500-crore urban drainage scheme — Hindustan Times (PTI)
The decisions were among 16 proposals cleared at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, covering 11 departments. Chief Secretary Anu Garg briefed reporters in Bhubaneswar after the meeting.
Free textbooks for Classes 9 and 10
The free-textbook scheme will cover students of Classes 9 and 10 in government and government-aided secondary schools, excluding those already covered under SC/ST provisions, who already receive textbooks. It will run for five years, from 2025-26 to 2029-30, with a total estimated outlay of ₹284.07 crore and a tentative beneficiary count of 28.7 lakh.
Procurement of paper, printing, transport and distribution will be carried out through a transparent competitive process under the Odisha General Financial Rules, according to the official briefing.
₹500-crore urban drainage programme
The Cabinet also approved the Urban Storm Water Drainage Management and Improvement Programme, with a ₹500-crore outlay funded from state resources over five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The programme will cover urban local bodies and selected block headquarters, focusing on desilting, RCC stormwater drains and measures to reduce waterlogging and localised flooding.
The move comes amid a row over errors in school textbooks — more than 1,600 mistakes, including spelling errors and incorrect names of eminent personalities, were found across 55 supplied textbooks, prompting the opposition to demand the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond.
Data centre at Keonjhar
Also approved was a Disaster Recovery-cum-Data Centre at Keonjhar, costing over ₹176 crore — ₹154 crore in capital expenditure and ₹22.83 crore in operating expenses over five years — to serve as a disaster-recovery twin for the Bhubaneswar State Data Centre.
Sources:
- Odisha Cabinet approves free textbooks for 28.7 lakh students, Rs 500-crore urban drainage scheme — ThePrint (PTI)
- Odisha Cabinet approves free textbooks for 28.7 lakh students, ₹500-crore urban drainage scheme — Hindustan Times (PTI)
