Naveen reiterates eight-year perspective plan for KBK

Naveen reiterates SCS demand
IBNlive, May 5, 2012
BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has reiterated the demand for declaring Odisha as a Special Category State (SCS). He raised the issue with Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission M S Ahluwalia in New Delhi on Friday during finalisation of the Plan outlay for the State. Naveen said the State satisfies all criteria, except having an international boundary.

The State Government had handed over a memorandum to the Centre in January highlighting Odisha’s demand for special category status. The SCS is a long standing demand of the State, raised since 1977. The demand was also in the manifesto of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for the 2000 elections. However, it was rejected by the Planning Commission.

The Chief Minister said several important proposals of the Government having significant bearing on the socio-economic development and resource mobilisation efforts have been pending with the Centre.

Naveen said the uniform policies pursued by the Centre for the country as a whole have in many cases resulted in distorted growth. He suggested that the Centre should engage constructively with the States to liberally support region-specific interventions.

The Chief Minister said the eight-year perspective plan for KBK (undivided Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput) districts, with a projected outlay of `4,550 cr, should be approved at the earliest. Besides, he demanded that the Revised Long-Term Action Plan (RLTAP) for KBK districts should be extended for 10 years.

Naveen said guidelines should be modified to include Odisha under the restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme-II (APDRP). Odisha is losing crores of rupees in the power sector as the guidelines of the APDRP are yet to be changed.

Stating that Odisha has lost hundreds of crores of rupees because of delay in revision of royalty on minerals, the Chief Minister demanded substantial upward revision of royalties on ad valorem basis for major minerals, including coal, iron ore, chromite, manganese and bauxite.

Besides, he also demanded imposition of mineral resources rent tax on iron ore to be charged at 50 per cent of the surplus rent from the iron ore mining companies.