- Around 2000 seats increased this year on the initiative of the Chief Minister
- Principal Secretary Sonmani Bora reviewed the departmental work.
Principal Secretary of Tribal, Scheduled Caste, Backward Class and Minority Development Department, Mr. Sonmani Bora has given instructions to take major steps towards strengthening the educational facilities, nutrition and monitoring system in the hostels-ashrams of the state. In the departmental review meeting held today at Mantralaya Mahanadi Bhawan, Principal Secretary Mr. Bora gave instructions to ensure continuous monitoring in the hostels-ashrams and to provide quality facilities to the children. In the meeting, Mr. Bora has also given instructions to develop nutrition gardens in 1000 ashram-hostels of the state.
It is noteworthy that under the guidance of Principal Secretary Mr. Bora, nutrition gardens are being developed in 1,000 ashram-hostels across the state, so that the children living there can get fresh fruits and vegetables. These gardens will plant fruit trees like mango, guava, blackberries, papaya, custard apple, and banana, along with vegetables like okra, tomato, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, potato, onion, and moong. This will provide children with fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables, and will make the campus green and environmentally friendly.
In the meeting, the Principal Secretary said that departmental hostels and ashrams are the backbone of the education system, therefore, all necessary facilities should be made available to the students studying there on time. Reviewing the new academic session that began on June 16, he directed strict implementation of the Aadhaar-based attendance system in hostels and ashrams and ensuring textbooks, uniforms, and other necessary arrangements before the session begins.
Principal Secretary Mr. Bora informed the meeting that a total of 3,357 hostels and ashrams are currently operating in the state, with 198,371 approved seats. He added that, under the initiative of Chief Minister Mr. Vishnu Dev Sai and the guidance of departmental minister Mr. Netam, approximately 2,000 seats have been added this year.
The Principal Secretary also reviewed the construction of hostels and ashram buildings approved for the year 2025-26. Officials informed that out of a total of 254 approved works, 191 are under construction and 45 are yet to be started. Thus, the percentage of completed works was 27 percent. During the review, instructions were given to record district-wise progress, identify top and lowest performing districts, and prepare detailed action plans for all projects to complete maximum work by July 31.
The meeting also reviewed the cases pending in the Chief Secretary’s TL, cases pending in the Finance Department, progress of works approved for the year 2025-26 under Article 275(1) of the Constitution and the proposed action plan for 2026-27.
Commissioner Shri D. Rahul Venkat, Director, Tribal Research and Training Institute Smt. Hina Animesh Netam, Managing Director, Self-Employed Cooperative Distribution and Development Corporation Shri Jagdish Kumar Sonkar, Joint Secretaries Shri B.K. Rajput and Shri Anupam Trivedi, Additional Director Shri Sanjay Gaur, Financial Advisor Shri Neeraj Mishra, Deputy Commissioner Shri L.R. Kurre, Shri Vishwanath Reddy, Smt. Maneka Chandrakar, Executive Engineer Shri Trideep Chakraborty and other senior officers were present in the meeting.