Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced inclusion of 14 more districts under the ambit of Special Development Council (SDC). With these 14 districts, the number went up to 23. The SDC is meant for the development of tribals.
The government’s move aimed to further conserve and ensure the socio-economic-cultural development of tribals of Odisha.
Around 80 lakh tribals in 172 blocks in these districts will be benefitted. The government will spend Rs 273 cr for the development of the tribal culture, the CM said.
The new districts are Balasore, Sambalpur, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Angul, Jajpur, Jharsuguda. Bargarh, Deogarh, Boudh and Ganjam.
Only Khordha, Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Sonepur won’t be included into the SDC.
Currently, the SDC is functioning in nine tribal-dominated districts – Mayurbhanj. Keonjhar, Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Sundargarh and Kandhamal
