Bhubaneswar, Jan, 21: The number of Assembly constituencies in Odisha may increase in the future. Even before the formal delimitation process begins, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has hinted at a major expansion. Instead of the present 147 MLAs, nearly 200 MLAs may sit in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
A new Legislative Assembly building and a new Lok Seva Bhavan will be constructed on 71 acres of land. The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for a new Assembly building with a seating capacity of 300 members. The Assembly is considered the cradle of state politics. The old Assembly building, constructed many decades ago, is now set to get a new look. What people see today will look very different in the next two years.
With the upcoming delimitation exercise, around 50 new Assembly constituencies may be created in the state. As a result, the new Odisha Legislative Assembly may have 50 more MLAs. At present, Odisha has 147 Assembly constituencies, but after delimitation, this number is expected to touch 200.
The Chief Minister gave strong संकेत (indications) of this during the foundation-laying ceremony of the new Assembly building today. Following this hint, Odisha politics has become quite heated.
On the other hand, the state government has also decided to give a new shape to Lok Seva Bhavan, which has been standing in the capital for the past 68 years. Construction of Lok Seva Bhavan began in January 1956 and was completed in November 1959 at a cost of ₹50 lakh at that time.
Currently, the state government has 41 departments, while Lok Seva Bhavan is only a three-storey building. The Chief Minister’s office is on the third floor, Cabinet Ministers’ offices are on the second floor, and Ministers of State have their offices on the first floor.
With the increase in government employees, growing workload, and the use of new technologies, a larger and more modern building has become necessary. For the new Lok Seva Bhavan, the government is planning to expand the boundary by including the area up to Power House Square, and also to develop underground roads and parking facilities.