Bhubaneswar: The heritage cabinet of the Naveen Patnaik government on Friday decided to set up an Odia University in the state and convert the Ananda Bhavan Museum and Learning Centre into a trust.

Ananda Bhavan is the ancestral property of the chief minister.

Briefing reporters about the cabinet's first meeting, chief secretary A.P. Padhi said: "The Odia University will be located at Satyabadi in Puri district. The government will provide 25 acres for the varsity."

The varsity will focus on research and promotion of Odia. The government has chosen Satyabadi as the varsity's location as freedom fighter Gopabandhu Das had set up an iconic school here in 1909 with only 19 students. The school gave the state many great achievers in diverse fields.

Padhi said: "The heritage cabinet also decided to formulate an Odia culture and heritage policy for preservation and proliferation of the state's art, culture and language." The state has a rich tradition and culture in various fields, including filigree. "Odia enjoys the status of a classical language. A draft policy will shortly be prepared to promote the state's art and Odia," he said.

The meeting also decided to convert the museum into a trust, for which a corpus fund would be created. Padhi said "President Ram Nath Kovind had dedicated the Anand Bhavan to the nation" during his visit to the state on March 17. It is a two-storey building located at Tulasipur in Cuttack and had become hub of activities during the freedom movement.

The heritage cabinet also decided to create a post of the director, public library, for the smooth and smart functioning of all public libraries across the state.

"Now, libraries are functioning under various departments. All these will be brought under a single administration," he said.

The heritage cabinet, first of its kind in the county, was formed on July 12, nearly seven months after it was announced by Naveen in Puri on December 26 last year, on the occasion of the BJD's foundation day.