UNDP offers to provide Odisha with development support service

BHUBANESWAR: With encouraging success in partnership programmes with Odisha government, UNDP has offered to provide Development Support Service (DSS) to the state to improve delivery of public services and goods through policy, technical and capacity development support.

This was discussed in a high-level meeting held recently under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Gokul Chandra Pati where country director of UNDP, Jaco Cilliers, along with team presented the blueprint of DSS, a senior official said today.

Considering their presentations, chief secretary has advised to include bringing in of cost-effective rural housing technology and capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the draft project for DSS.

Pati has also advised to focus on the concurrent monitoring of various schemes and programmes for improving the effectiveness of field-level monitoring.

The team has been asked to prepare a draft project report for this kind of partnership and present it to planning and coordination department through Development Commissioner U N Behera for consideration, an official release said today.

The team has presented that they can provide a wide range of services ranging from bringing in of technical knowhow and resource institutions to capacity development, project designing, implementation, codifying of best practices and knowledge management.

It has been proposed that UNDP can provide development support services in construction of disaster risk resilience housing, decentralised planning, capacity building of PRI, strengthening of the initiatives on livelihood of tribal communities, Swachh Bharat mission and programmes relating to women and children, the release said.