Naveen Patnaik reiterates demand for special category state status for Odisha

Naveen said that Odisha should be treated at par with the north eastern and Himalayan states in the sharing pattern of centrally sponsored schemes to expedite implementation of development schemes.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik (File | PTI)
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik (File | PTI)

BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today reiterated its demand for special category state status to Odisha in view of the high percentage of population belonging to the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes and frequent natural calamities.

The chief minister raised the issue in a meeting with the vice-chairman of the Niti Aayog Rajiv Kumar at the state secretariat here.  Naveen said that Odisha should be treated at par with the north eastern and Himalayan states in the sharing pattern of centrally sponsored schemes to expedite implementation of development schemes. He also requested the Niti Aayog to restore central assistance for special plan for KBK region (undivided Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi districts),  Integrated Action Plan (IAP) and Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) schemes.

Naveen said assurance to increase the central share in State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) should be implemented. Besides, he also demanded that prior information should be given to the state on
annual allocation for central schemes, relaxation in rules of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for 38 left wing extremist (LWE) affected blocks, special attention for opening bank branches in 4376 unbanked gram panchayats, expansion of mobile network to 11,200 villages and broadband connectivity to all gram panchayats affected by LWE.

The chief minister also drew the attention of the Niti Aayog for development and maintenance of national highways in the state. He said that execution of railway line projects should be expedited as the state government has provided 50 percent of the cost and free land. The Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor should be extended to Visakhapatnam to connect it to deep water port and Odisha should be included in it, he said.

Besides, the chief minister said rules of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana launched by the Centre, similar to Mamata yojana of the state government should be relaxed to include more beneficiaries.

The proposed aspirational districts scheme to be launched by Centre was also discussed at the meeting. Stating that 115 districts have been proposed in the scheme, Kumar said the Niti Aayong will include districts wanted by the state government in the scheme.

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