BHUBANESWAR : In a bid to address the issue of distress migration in Odisha, the state government on Monday constituted a 20-member task force headed by deputy chief minister c to examine the nature of migration region wise and find effective solutions to the problem.
A notification issued by the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department said the task force will deliberate on the regional and seasonal variation as well as the magnitude and recommend strategies to reduce distress migration. The panel will study interventions being made by different departments and their effectiveness in tackling the issue.
According to the notification, the task force will recommend specific measures to be taken by different departments for creation of infrastructure as well as opportunities of livelihood within the state through skilling, credit availability and linking the families with anti-poverty programmes.
Besides suggesting additional targeted interventions and schemes required to be taken up by the state government, the task force will also finalise the institutional framework to be put in place at state, district and block levels to tackle the issue in a holistic and sustainable manner.
The task force will also find out the resource availability to ensure timely and effective implementation of the programmes. It has also been asked to suggest ways for coordinating with the Centre and other state governments to lessen the sufferings of the migrating population.
It will also deliberate upon the need to develop partnerships with expert agencies, civil society and technical organisations for effective interventions.
The secretariat of the task force will be located in the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department. The task force will meet at least once in six months to review the progress.
The committee has eight other ministers including deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari and Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water minister Rabi Naik along with chief secretary Manoj Ahuja and development commissioner Anu Garg.
Principal secretary in the Panchayati Raj department Sushil Kumar Lohani is the member-convenor of the task force.