Odisha Assembly holds overnight proceedings, passes two Bills after marathon debate

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly early Thursday passed two important Bills after an overnight marathon debate in which BJD members actively took part, but Congress legislators gave it a miss.

‘The Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2024’, which seeks to give more autonomy to universities for recruitment and other activities, and ‘The Odisha State Highways Authority Bill, 2025’, which seeks to establish a body on the lines of NHAI for planning, development, maintenance and management of highways and major roads in the state, were passed by voice vote after long hours of debate.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, his deputy Pravati Parida and around a dozen ministers remained present in the House for the entire night till the varsity Bill was passed around 4.29 am after a debate of over 12 hours.

Many senior members of the BJD, including eight-time MLA R P Swain, former ministers Arun Kumar Sahoo, Ganeswar Behera and Pramila Mallik, who is also the Opposition’s chief whip, participated in the debate on the universities Bill that started at 4 pm Wednesday.

The House witnessed a heated exchange of words between the Opposition and the treasury benches during the discussion on ‘The Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2024’.

The Opposition members strongly demanded that the Bill be referred to the Select Committee as the matter was pending with the Supreme Court.

select vice-chancellors. The committee will have a member recommended by the state government, one nominated by the chancellor (governor) and one by the UGC.”

After the passage of the Bill at sunrise, Suraj said Odisha would witness a new dawn in the field of education.

After that, the House also passed ‘The Odisha State Highways Authority Bill, 2025’ tabled by Works Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan.

“The state government has envisaged the implementation of an ambitious plan to develop 75,000 km of world-class road network in the state. A fast-track approach is needed for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement along the corridors, environmental and forest clearance and utility shifting or relocation and other activities, for which an authority is needed,” the minister said.

Harichandan said the Odisha State Highway Authority would be on the lines of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and it would be responsible for the planning, development, maintenance and management of highways and major roads.

The Bill was passed at 6.29 am through voice vote after a discussion for about two hours.