Odisha Running 52 De-Addiction Centres: Minister

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is currently running 52 de-addiction centres across the state, Minister for Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Nityananda Gond informed the State Assembly on Friday.

Responding to a question raised by MLA Tankadhara Tripathy, the Minister said that 41 centres are operating with central government funding in 29 districts, while 11 centres are functioning with state government support in 10 districts.

Each centre funded by the central government has the capacity to accommodate 15 inmates, whereas state-funded centres can house 30 inmates. All inmates are provided with free food, accommodation, treatment, and vocational training for a month.

Citing National Human Rights Commission data, the Minister said that one inmate at the centrally funded ‘Chetana’ de-addiction centre in Dhenkanal district died in 2021. No such incident has been reported from any of the state-funded centres.

The state-run de-addiction facilities have been operational since February 2024 and receive an annual grant of ₹74,32,000, including a non-recurring cost of ₹7,00,000 and recurring expenses of ₹67,34,000.