Odisha cabinet okays handlooms, handicrafts council

Bhubaneswar, Sep 21 (IANS) The Odisha cabinet on Thursday approved setting up of a Handlooms and Handicrafts Development and Promotion Council to ensure growth of the industry and welfare of artisans.

The cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved the proposal to set up the council in Bhubaneswar.

The government has proposed to provide Rs 20 crore during the current financial year to the council.

"The council would assess the impact of various schemes and programmes being implemented for weavers and artisans and advise the government for framing policies for the handlooms and handicrafts sectors," said Chief Secretary A.P. Padhi.

It would also provide guidance to the government for conducting periodical socio-economic census and maintenance of database of weavers and artisans. It would also work towards improving the livelihood of families of weavers and artisans of the state, he added.

However, the structure of the council is yet to be decided, said Padhi.

Odisha is known for the production of handloom and handicraft products. More than 3.5 lakh weaver and artisan families earn their livelihood from this diverse production base.

The cabinet also approved the Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules 2017.

The rules are divided into 22 Sections relating to duties and accountability of the fire service, responsibility of owners of commercial and high-rise residential complexes and enforcement conferred on the fire service, said the official.

Besides, the cabinet approved the restructuring of the Odisha Administrative Service by increasing the cadre strength to 1,711 from 1,558 and revision of cadre strength of Odisha Finance Service by increasing it to 800 from present 727.

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