Balangir MP urges PM for KBK Action Plan ’09-17

The Pioneer, Feb 8, 2010
PNS, Bhubaneswar

Balangir Lok Sabha member Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has urged PM Manmohan Singh’s intervention for an early approval of the Special Action Plan 2009-17 for the KBK region.

In his letter to the PM on February 1 and also seeking an appointment, Singh Deo has written that KBK has very adverse human development indicators stating that a Rajiv Gandhi Foundation study has listed the eight KBK districts in Odisha at the bottom of 69 most backward districts of India with 38.41 per cent ST and 16.25 per cent SC population while 68 per cent of villages in KBK have more than 50 per cent STs and SCs.

Stating that KBK witnesses acute regional, social and gender disparities, Singh Deo has quoted NSS 55th round (1999-2000) that reports very high incidence of poverty amounting 87.1 per cent.

Pointing out that both the Centre and the State here have been paying special attention to KBK since 1995, the State in consultation with the Centre has implemented a long-term action plan (LTAP) from the fiscals 1995-96 to 1997-98 and a revised long term action plan (RLTAP) since 1998-99, Singh Deo in his letter admits that infrastructure, livelihood and other human development indicators have considerably improved quoting further an analysis of NSS 61st round (2004-05)indicating that the incidence of poverty in the KBK region has gone down by 24.6 per cent that points from 87.1 per cent in 1999-2000 to 62.5 per cent in 2004-05.

“However, there are still several gaps which cannot be effectively filled under the existing programmes and moreover gains of development momentum generated by the special efforts of both the Centre and the State cannot be consolidated and sustained unless concerted efforts continue in this region for a longer period,” Singh Deo opines in his letter concluding that the State has prepared an Eight Year Perspective Plan for KBK for a period from 2009-10 to 2016-17 to fill critical gaps and accelerate the process of development and it is awaiting the Planning Commission’s approval.