Bhubaneswar, August 30: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will launch "Sambandha," a mega cooperative membership campaign and a slew of projects on September 1 aimed at expanding the State's cooperative footprint and higher engagement in rural sectors.

The Chief Minister will also launch a new mobile application to make digital membership registration seamless and transparent.

The Cooperation Department aims to enroll at least one person from every rural household through this drive, facilitating access to cooperative services at the doorstep and improving rural livelihoods. Multiple cooperative projects will also be launched and foundation stones laid during the occasion.

For the first time in Odisha's history, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and Large-sized Adivasi Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS) will distribute dividends to their farmer members. In the initial phase, over 300,000 beneficiaries across 180 PACS and LAMPCS will receive a total dividend of Rs 14 crore. Additionally, the State Government, as a shareholder, will receive Rs 4.22 crore, which will be reinvested into the development of the cooperative sector.

To bolster the rural economy and support dairy farmers, 21 new milk collection centers will be virtually inaugurated across PACS and LAMPS, adding to the 76 centers already operational.

To ensure small and marginal farmers have access to affordable, rented modern agricultural equipment, PACS and LAMPCS are being developed as Agro-Service Centers, with 50 such centers scheduled for launch.

Furthermore, 46 consumer centers will be inaugurated to supply essential goods at affordable rates to rural consumers, alongside 200 Common Service Centers (CSCs) to deliver various government and non-government services. To improve transparency and operational capacity, 200 PACS will be integrated into the National Level PACS Software (NLPS) on Tuesday, with the rest to be onboarded by the end of the financial year.

Under the State's initiative to build 100 model mandis with modern infrastructure across all districts, foundation stones will be virtually laid for the first four mandis out of 38 approved by the Cabinet. This includes two in Cuttack, one each in Khordha and Puri. DPRs and site identification for the remaining mandis have already been finalized.

On the occasion, under the Union Government's "World's Largest Grain Storage Scheme," foundation stones will be laid for three out of 19 warehouses slated for the first phase. For the context, foundation stone for 12 such warehouses were initiated by Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah during in March this year.

The Chief Minister will also distribute appointment letters to 30 candidates selected for the Odisha State Warehousing Corporation (OSWC).