Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik seeks ‘special dispensation’ from Centre to catch up with frontline states

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday demanded “special dispensation” from the Centre to catch up with frontline states of the country as NITI Aayog said it’s keen to partner with Odisha for developing a state specific development blueprint.
Raising the issue during a meeting with NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar here, the chief minister said the state is burdened with the long-term issues like infrastructural gaps and vulnerability to recurring natural calamities.
The chief minister, who has been demanding, special focus tag for Odisha and central assistance at par with north eastern and Himalayan states citing state’s vulnerability to calamities especially cyclones, has raised the issue of special dispensation from the Centre for the first time.
Official records said Odisha has faced as many as 16 natural calamities including five very severe cyclones and two floods in the past 11 years causing devastations to public and private properties worth more than Rs 35,000 crore.
Despite hit by natural calamities, Naveen said that Odisha has made substantial improvement in the last two decades both in macro-economic indicators and socio-economic indicators.
“Our development interventions have been successful in combating left wing extremism, mobilization and economic empowerment of nearly 70 lakh women through self-help groups. We have our own health assurance scheme for cashless treatment in empanelled hospitals with wider coverage to reduce out of pocket health expenditure,” said Naveen during the meeting.
While listing state’s achievements like third largest contributor to PDS rice pool of the country and becoming a pioneer in cash transfer system for pregnant women and lactating mothers, the chief minister also highlighted Odisha’s journey to become an attractive investment destination in manufacturing and mining industries by creating infrastructure.
The chief minister also hailed NITI Aayog for its support to states in identifying priorities, sectors, and strategies for sustainable development.
During the meeting, Kumar also appreciated state’s achievement in areas like increasing per capita income, nutritional security of children, improvement in agriculture and mining along with managing the fiscal deficit below 5% percent.
Some of the major suggestions made by the NITI Aayog vice chairman include increasing state’s mining production, switching to chemical free agriculture in the state and to set up monitoring units to achieve sustainable development goal across the administrative setup in the state.
“State’s per capita growth during 2011 to 2020 is more than the national average. It’s a good achievement. We have discussed in detail with focus on intensifying the pace of development of the state, elevating more people from below the poverty line and overall development of aspirational districts,” Kumar told reporters after the meeting.
Kumar, who is on a three-day visit to the state, is also held discussions with industry associations, members from civil society and academicians to understand the development aspects. He would also visit Puri, Chilka and other nearby tourist places before leaving for New Delhi on Friday.
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