Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has demanded special focus status for Odisha before the Union Government on Sunday.
He raised this demand during the Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
“As we all know Odisha is impacted almost every year by natural disasters. It’s important to have disaster resilient infrastructure to protect the state and its people from the vagaries of nature,” the Chief Minister said.
He requested the central government to make Odisha a special focus state and allocate funds for disaster proofing.
Mr.Patnaik said Odisha have been historically neglected in the subjects in the central list viz Telecom, Railways and banking. The State has the lowest density in all these crucial infrastructures and I would urge the central Government to give special focus for Odisha, he demanded.
Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana has some implementation issues in the field because of which genuine farmers are deprived in some cases. Nitiayog may study this and suggest ways to protect the interest of farmers, said the CM.
“As regards the rural housing scheme PMAY most of our tribal and KBK districts have been bypassed from new allocation. I would request the Central Government to immediately resolve this issue and allocate houses. The State government has complied to all the queries raised in this regard,” he added.
He said the role played by PM as the then Chief Minister of Gujarat in protecting and conserving step wells in Gujarat including the Rani ki Vav listed in UNESCO heritage site is praise worthy.
“As you know sir, conservation and preservation systems have gone through huge changes globally. Both in terms of technology and legal framework. I would suggest that ASI should be transformed and AMSAR act amended to make our systems on par with global benchmarks,” he said, adding, this will greatly help in protecting heritage sites including our own Konark.
Naveen thanked the PM for convening this meeting at a crucial juncture. Team India showed its resolve under his leadership in effectively handling the global pandemic Covid, he stated.
Today India is showing its sports prowess in commonwealth games. Patnaik congratulations to all the athletes who are making their motherland proud.
India is at the crossroads of becoming a great economic superpower rooted in inclusive growth and Nitiayog can play an important role in facilitating this.
“We all accept that the State and central governments are political entities and sometimes there are disputes in the implementation of central schemes. Nitiayog can resolve these issues like an ombudsman. This will promote Cooperative Federalism and speedy implementation of schemes,” suggested the Chief Minister.