Special package for the KBK region asked for by state Govt

State seeks Centre’s support to tame Naxals
Express News ServiceFirst Published : 02 Jul 2009 04:05:00 AM ISTLast Updated :
Expressbuzz, July 2, 2009

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has a long wish list which it wants to be fulfilled by the Centre in the budget to be presented on July 6.

The Central budget has assumed significance for states, including Orissa, in view of the slowdown which has impacted the revenue generation and increasing activities of the Left Wing extremism (LWE) in some of them. The Naxalite menace has grown to such an extent that, the State Government needs Central support including increased financial assistance to combat this.

Increased funding of the Vizianagaram-Ranchi highway which will run through 13 Naxal-affected tribal districts and its early completion are major demands of the State Government.

The issue was raised by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during the visit of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram here recently to review the security preparedness and take stock of the situation in southern districts.

Besides, the State Government wants increased funding under the security-related expenditure (SRE). The requirement for 2009-10 has been fixed at Rs 64 crore which had already been raised.

Another main demand of the State Government is upward revision of royalty on ad valorem basis. Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei said the State Government is losing huge revenue because of the Centre’s delay in revising royalty on minerals. The State Government expects some announcement in this regard in view of the repeated demands, he said.

There is also a long-standing demand for establishment of a tribal university in the State in view of its tribal population. The State Government expects this demand to be fulfilled by the Centre, he said.

A special package for the KBK (undivided Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput) region has also been asked for. Expediting the implementation of development programmes in this region will go a long way in curbing the increased activities of the Naxals in the area, he said.

Other demands include more funds to complete the ongoing national highway projects in the State including the Panikoili-Rajamunda and Bhubaneswar-Puri roads. However, the State Government’s experience in getting enhanced funding from the Centre for projects in the State is not happy.

Naveen had demanded a special package of Rs 1,300 crore from the Centre in 2008 which was ignored in the last year’s budget.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed as the Centre may not cater to our needs in view of the recession-hit economy and its own populist schemes including rice at Rs 3 a kg,” Ghadei said.