Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said 4.5 crore people of Odisha have been continuously blessing him to serve them for the past 22 years."The faith they have in me is my biggest inspiration to work towards an Empowered Odisha," he said while receiving the lifetime achievement award by Capital Foundation in a glittering function at New Delhi.
Former Chief Justice of India Justice N. V. Ramana presented the award to Patnaik in presence of many dignitaries including former Supreme Court Justice Anang Patnaik.Dedicating the award to the people of Odisha, the Chief Minister said: "My lifetime's achievement will be to see an empowered and spirited Odisha claiming her place in the sun."
He further said that Odisha has come a long way in the last 22 years. After the super cyclone of 1999, who would have thought that Odisha will set global benchmarks in disaster management and get awarded by the United Nations, he pointed out.
On the transformation of Odisha, he said: "Odisha, known for 'poverty' is now known for the fastest 'poverty reduction' in our country. Our governance model rooted in the empowerment of women Mission Sakti is something which we are truly proud of."
"Similarly, empowerment of tribal communities has always been close to my heart and Odisha leads the country in providing land rights under the Forest Dwellers Act. More than half a million tribal girls are studying in the hostels," he said.
"Farmers have always been the backbone of our state and their hard-work has fetched the state the Krishi Karman award four times. Odisha is the only state to have doubled farmer's income," said Patnaik.
Stating that Odisha produces the maximum steel and aluminium for the country, the Chief Minister said that Odisha increased its steel production by nearly 10 times in the last two decades and has helped the country during the Covid crisis.
Odisha supplied life-saving oxygen to 17 states during the Covid pandemic, he said, adding, in the manufacturing sector, Odisha attracts the maximum investment in the country.Odisha is set to host the Hockey World Cup twice in a row and has set up high performance centres in various sports, Odisha the sports capital of India has set standards for other states to follow, he pointed out.
Patnaik said his government's path breaking health initiative Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) provides near universal health assurance to more than 80 per cent of people of Odisha while the 5T principles and Mo Sarakar initiatives have strengthened people's faith in professional governance with a humane face.
"We are on the right path and by Lord Jagannath's grace and the support of our people we shall get there soon," he added.