Bhubaneswar: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the establishment of a Disaster Recovery-cum-Data Centre (DR-cum-DC) in Keonjhar at an estimated cost of Rs 176.83 crore to ensure uninterrupted delivery of critical govt digital services during disasters and major disruptions.Chief secretary Anu Garg said the facility will come up at the south campus of Dharanidhar University in Keonjhar, providing the geographical separation required from Odisha State Data Centre (OSDC) in Bhubaneswar, which hosts key govt applications, databases and digital platforms.Officials said the project will bolster the state’s business continuity, disaster recovery and cyber resilience capabilities by creating an independent recovery site for critical e-governance services. The DR-cum-DC will have dedicated power, cooling, connectivity, storage, backup, networking and cyber-security infrastructure. It will enable restoration of essential govt services within approved recovery timelines through secure data replication, centralised monitoring, independent backup systems and periodic disaster recovery drills.The project will be implemented at a cost of Rs 176.83 crore, including capital expenditure of Rs 154 crore and operational expenditure of Rs 22.83 crore over five years. Of the total outlay, Rs 162.83 crore will be funded through the Fifth State Finance Commission grant, while the remaining amount will be met from the Odisha Computer Application Centre’s (OCAC) state data centre maintenance budget.M/s Krystal Integrated Services Ltd emerged as the lowest bidder through an open tender process and has been selected to execute the project. The facility is expected to be completed within nine months, followed by operation and maintenance support for five years after commissioning.With the cabinet’s approval for awarding the contract, the project is expected to provide a geographically independent recovery facility for critical digital services and strengthen the state’s ability to maintain secure and citizen-centric governance in the event of disasters or major system failures.