In his home district of Kendujhar, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday, November 6, 2026 inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 330 development projects worth a combined ₹1,292 crore — a sweeping package spanning primary education, higher education, healthcare, and industrial infrastructure for one of the state's most resource-rich yet long-underserved districts.

Posting in Odia, the Chief Minister struck a deliberately personal note — 'ମୋ ପ୍ରିୟ ଜନ୍ମମାଟି' ('my beloved birthplace') — reminding residents that for them, the man who now governs all of Odisha remains simply 'ମୋହନ ଭାଇ' ('Mohan bhai', the old neighbour). It was a frame that set the tone for what followed: not a ceremonial fly-in, but a homecoming with a development agenda attached.

630 school foundations and the Godabarish Mishra Yojana's third wave

The centrepiece of the education push is the third phase of the Godabarish Mishra Adarsha Prathamik Vidyalaya Yojana, under which foundation stones were laid for 630 upgraded primary schools across Odisha. Majhi traced the goal back to his days as a legislator, when he set his sights on better primary schooling for rural and tribal children in the Kendujhar belt. Earlier phases of the scheme focused on infrastructure upgrades across rural districts; the third phase now scales that ambition state-wide.

'The stronger the foundation of primary education, the more resilient the dreams of our future generations,' the Chief Minister wrote. It is a line that doubles as a political statement: in a state where tribal and rural learning outcomes have historically lagged, investing at the base of the pyramid signals where the administration believes change must begin.

A 15-storey Tech-Business Park — first of its kind in northern Odisha

The most striking single announcement is a ₹237 crore, 15-floor Tech-Business Park — described by Majhi as the first such facility in northern Odisha. For a district whose economy has long revolved around mining and whose graduates have routinely left for Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, or Bengaluru, the park is a direct counter-narrative. The stated goal is blunt: 'Our youth will no longer need to go to other states in search of employment; they will progress on their own soil.'

Kendujhar's iron-ore wealth has generated state revenue for decades without translating into proportionate local development — a tension that has fuelled political grievance in the region. A technology park signals a deliberate pivot toward white-collar economic diversification alongside the existing extractive economy.

Dharanidhar campus, cancer screening, and free bus cards

The package also includes the southern campus of Dharanidhar University, expanding higher-education capacity within the district. At Dharanidhar Medical College, the government is adding a indigenous cancer-screening centre alongside new dental and nursing colleges — building out a health-education cluster that the region has lacked.

Students gain an immediate, tangible benefit: NCMC free bus cards, extending the National Common Mobility Card framework to Kendujhar's student commuters. Small in cost, high in visibility — the kind of scheme that is felt every morning at the bus stop.

The 'resource curse' question Kendujhar keeps asking

Kendujhar is mineral-rich and, by many human-development indices, underserved. That paradox — wealth beneath the ground, poverty above it — has defined the district's politics for a generation. Majhi's ₹1,292 crore announcement is the most concentrated single-day investment push the district has seen under the current administration, and it arrives eighteen months into the BJP government's first term in Odisha since the party ended Naveen Patnaik's two-decade dominance in 2024.

Whether the 330 projects proceed on schedule — and whether the Tech-Business Park attracts tenants — will be the real test. For now, Kendujhar has the blueprint. The building starts today.