Asserting that the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) does not have a “boss in Delhi”, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said his government would reduce its poverty rate to 10 per cent in the next five years.
Addressing party workers and leaders on BJD’s 25th foundation day, Patnaik said unlike opposition parties such as the Congress and BJP, BJD doesn’t have a boss in Delhi. “Whatever we do is for the people of Odisha, who are our boss. Behind the success of BJD was the dream of the people for a prosperous and strong Odisha. The party will work for the next 100 years with the support of all residents of the state,” said Patnaik through video conferencing.
Patnaik said BJD is the only party whose popularity is growing with each passing day and which has 1 crore of the 4.5 crore people of Odisha as its members. “Born with the vision of the legendary Biju Patnaik, the BJD has now turned into a social movement. The party is a symbol of the trust and belief of 4.5 crore people of Odisha,” he said.
Stressing his government’s success in bringing down poverty, Patnaik said that Odisha has undergone a sea change since 2000 and the poverty rate of the state has come down from 63 per cent to 29 per cent and over 80 lakh people have been brought above the poverty line.
{{/usCountry}}Stressing his government’s success in bringing down poverty, Patnaik said that Odisha has undergone a sea change since 2000 and the poverty rate of the state has come down from 63 per cent to 29 per cent and over 80 lakh people have been brought above the poverty line.
{{/usCountry}}“Odisha will create history by further reducing the poverty rate to 10 per cent in the next five years. Our government will take all measures to achieve this goal,” he said.
As per the NITI Aayog’s National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2021 report released last month, Odisha is among the top-10 states with a significant share of the population living under poverty. With 29.35% of its population being multidimensionally poor as per the MPI Baseline Report, Odisha ranked 9th in poverty in the country.
While Bihar topped the chart in poverty with 51.91% of its population multidimensionally poor, Kerala has the least poverty with only 0.71% of its population multidimensionally poor.
As per the MPI baseline report, 37.26% of the population in Odisha are deprived of proper nutrition while 70.43% of the state’s population did not have proper sanitation and 20.97% did not have access to clean drinking water. More than 55.81% of the population did not have proper houses.
Patnaik said that in terms of food grain production, Odisha has become third in the country from primarily being a buyer from other states. He added that Odisha led the country in disaster management, and has even been praised by the United Nations and Niti Aayog among others for its exemplary work.
The chief minister said Odisha has received a whooping over ₹4 lakh crore investments during the Covid-19 pandemic period which is the highest in the country. “The Smart Health Card has been able to instil a sense of confidence among the people,” the Chief Minister said in his speech to the party leaders.