Odisha Sambandha Scheme: CM Mohan Majhi to Launch Massive Cooperative Sector Initiatives

24 Sep 2026, 07:09 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Bhubaneswar: Farmer members across Odisha’s primary agricultural societies will receive direct profit dividends for the first time in the state’s history, anchoring a sweeping structural overhaul of the rural cooperative framework scheduled to roll out on Friday, September 25.

The move marks an institutional departure from running village-level credit bodies merely as lending counters. Under the transition, Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and Large Area Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPCS) will begin returning operational surpluses directly to their farming constituents.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will preside over the rollout, headlined by “Sambandha,” a statewide enrolment initiative managed by the Cooperation Department. The program sets a firm operational mandate: integrate at least one individual from every rural household across Odisha into the cooperative fold.

To eliminate paper documentation bottlenecks that historically slowed grassroot access, a dedicated mobile application will go live during the event, shifting member onboarding into an open digital workflow.

Alongside the membership expansion, the administration will introduce “Promotion of Sugarcane Production,” a state-sector scheme aimed at restoring supply chains around cooperative milling belts. The intervention focuses initial financial and operational assistance on two key agro-industrial assets: reviving the closed Badamba Cooperative Sugar Mill, which has sat idle following extended shutdowns, and reinforcing output capacities at the Asika Cooperative Sugar Mill. Cane cultivators working within both catchment areas will receive targeted production incentives.

Digital modernization across primary rural hubs will advance in parallel. PACS units throughout the state will formally enter the National Level PACS Computerisation Software (NLPS) framework on Friday, standardizing daily accounting, member records, and transaction audits onto a unified network.

Physical village-level operations are slated for an immediate expansion as well. Majhi will virtually inaugurate dairy-focused milk collection centres embedded directly inside PACS, along with newly established Krushi Seva Kendras, retail consumer outlets, and Jan Seva Kendras designed to consolidate farm inputs, procurement, and civic utilities into single rural distribution points.

Agricultural logistics and storage capacity form the final structural pillar of the program. Groundbreaking ceremonies will take place for a series of Model Mandis alongside local infrastructure projects approved under the World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan.

Administrative staffing for the expanded network will also be addressed during the Friday proceedings, where the Chief Minister will hand out formal appointment letters to newly recruited Cooperative Inspectors and incoming personnel assigned to the Odisha State Warehousing Corporation (OSWC).