Bhubaneswar: Odisha Government allocated Rs 1,191 Crore for the Location Accessible Multi-Modal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme to facilitate assured and affordable transportation for people across the state.
While Rs 656 Crore has been spent under the LAccMI scheme so far, the Government allocated Rs 1,191 Crore more in the Vote-on-Account 2024-25.
“A sum of Rs.656 crore has been spent till date and another sum of Rs.1,191 crore is provisioned for 2024-25,” the FM BK Arukha said in his speech while presenting the Vote-on-Account for the year 2024-25 today.
The Government has set the target to ply 1,745 buses including 122 high-end premium buses under the innovative scheme.
In September 2023, Government had approved the LAccMI scheme aiming to provide affordable bus services across the state. Under the scheme, the buses will connect all panchayats, blocks, district headquarters and major towns in the state. The project cost is estimated to be approximately Rs.3,178 crore in the first three years of bus operation from 2023-24 to 2025-26.
Besides, the Government in Vote-on-Account 2024-25 has proposed Rs 21,004 Crore for roads, bridges, airport and railway projects, around 25% higher than previous fiscal.
The Government has allocated Rs 8,813 Crore to complete the ongoing rural road and bridge projects.
The FM said that we are implementing “Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana” (MMSY), “Biju Setu Yojana” (BSY) and PMGSY.
He said that under citizen friendly “Ama Bus Stand” scheme, 55 Bus Stands have been developed at different locations in 2023-24 and 132 new Ama Bus Stands are proposed to be taken up in 2024-25 with allocation of Rs.210 crore.
Moreover, the Government proposed to allocate Rs.2,998 crore for Transport Department under Odisha Civil Aviation Policy in 2024-25, which is an increase of 152 percent over the provision in the Budget Estimates for 2023-24, to improve air connectivity, unlock the potential in the sector and create jobs for businesses.
