Bhubaneswar, May 20 (IANS) The Odisha Cabinet on Wednesday approved 10 key proposals related to seven departments including the Law, Energy and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development departments.

The proposals were approved during the important meeting of the cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi here on Wednesday. Among the major proposals approved by the Odisha Cabinet on Wednesday was the enactment of the Odisha Marine Fishing (Prohibition and Regulation) legislation, 2026 (OMFRA, 2026), repealing the existing Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982, to establish a robust, modern, and inclusive legal framework for the Marine Fisheries Sector.

Calling marine fishing as an important part of the growth story of Odisha, Speaking to media persons, Chief Secretary Anu Garg said, “Chief Minister has announced in the budget that there will be a deep sea fishing mission and a shrimp export mission, and therefore it was very important to enact this legislation, whereby emphasis will be laid on marine resource conservation, coastal security, and ensuring that seaweed development and mariculture, which hitherto were not included, will also be introduced. We are hopeful that this will give a boost to the marine economy.”

The government hopes that the Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Bill, 2026, will boost the state’s marine fisheries sector and help achieve the target of Rs 25,000 crore in seafood exports by 2036, in line with the “Viksit Odisha Vision 2036-47” and the state’s Blue Economy initiatives. The Odisha cabinet also gave its nod to the proposal of the Law department for the repealing of 358 Acts enacted during the year 1974 to 2025, which had become redundant and obsolete.

According to an official statement, most of the said Acts are amendment Acts and, after coming into force, the amendments made through them become incorporated into the respective Principal Acts. Hence, there is no necessity to retain these Acts in the Statute Book any longer. At the same time, some Acts were enacted as one-time measures for specific purposes and lose their relevance after coming into force.

Following the recommendations of the Odisha State Law Commission, the state cabinet approved the proposal to take steps for enactment of the Odisha Repealing Bill, 2026 which will repeal 358 number of Acts enacted between 1974 and 2025.

Similarly, the Odisha Cabinet approved a proposal to bring amendments to the Odisha Thermal Power Policy, 2008, reducing the mandatory power allocation by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to the government from 12–14 per cent to 5 per cent, in line with recommendations from the Government of India and practices followed in states such as Chhattisgarh.

This apart, several other significant proposals have also got the cabinet nod during its meeting on Wednesday.

–IANS

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