ODISHA NEEDS SPECIAL FUNDING FOR ITS BACKWARD REGION

ODISHA NEEDS SPECIAL FUNDING FOR ITS BACKWARD REGION 9/12/2011

Alleging neglect of Odisha by the Centre amid bonanza to other states, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged Prime Minister Manmmohan Singh to sanction a special package for the backward districts of the state at the earliest.

Patnaik conveyed the feeling of the state government in a letter to the prime minister.

The fresh move came barely 15 days after the chief minister wrote a strongly worded letter to the prime minister on November 24 resenting the Centre's refusal to grant special category state status to Odisha.

We come to know that the Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a special package of Rs 8,750 crore for five years for the development of backward districts of West Bengal, Patnaik said while quoting media reports.

Odisha, on other hand, got only Rs 340 crore under the Backward Region Grants Fund (BRGF) for 2011-12 for 19 backward districts (about Rs 1700 crore over five years), he said.

This apart, Odisha's proposal for continuation of the special package for KBK (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput) districts in the 12th plan has not been considered so far, Patnaik said.

Would it not seem to you, Sir, this is an injustice, the chief minister asked.

Stating that every part of India should get benefits under the BRGF, Patnaik said that the disparity between Rs 8750 crore and Rs 1700 crore seems to be quite glaring.

Union home minister P Chidambaram, who visited Odisha last month, should have apprised the prime minister about the situation here, he said.

In his November 24 letter, Patnaik had criticized successive Central governments for denial of special category state status to Odisha.

The letter was sent after Union minister of state for Planning Aswani Kumar in a written reply informed Lok Sabha that Odisha was not considered for special category state status.

I am totally distressed over the development. This is most unfortunate that the Centre denies special category state status to Odisha which houses millions of poor people, the chief minister had told reporters here.

Claiming that Odisha meets all criteria to get special category status except an international boundary, he said this was a step-motherly attitude of the Central government.

Odisha has been demanding since 1979 special category status in the form of resolution passed in the State Assembly.

The issue has been raised in different meetings of the National Development Council and at the time of finalization of annual plan of the Planning Commission, Patnaik said.

All these efforts appear to be futile as the Centre has turned a deaf ear to this legitimate request of Odisha, he said, alleging that the successive governments at the Centre have ignored the state's interest.

With high concentration of scheduled tribes and castes, the state records adverse human development indicator and high incidence of poverty, Patnaik said.

SIDDHARTHA SHANKAR MISHRA,
BUREAU CHIEF. THESE DAYS,
ODISHA