Leading non-resident Odia (NRO) opinion maker Digambara Patra, Associate Professor of Chemistry in the American University of Beirut, has sharply reacted to the letter of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recommending establishment of two High Court Benches in south and western Odisha. Describing it as a political move aimed at winning the heart of the voters of the two regions before the 2014 general elections, he said if the Benches were to established, they would not serve the genuine requirement of the State’s people living in far-flung areas.
“The CM’s letter is only a political appeasement. The CM perhaps wants to avoid genuine requirement of Odisha to divert the demand of remote and backward locations in KBK region. The present proposal largely meant to suit for CM’s home district and his political ambition,” he said.
He further said a genuine demand for Odisha is a high court bench for the KBK region to serve the backward and far off locations comprising Nuapada, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi and other districts. Even if the CM felt two HC benches are required, he should rather have emphasised to establish one of them in KBK region, he maintained.
Justifying the grounds for establishment of a HC bench in KBK district, Prof Patra said the region fulfills all criteria of the Jaswant Singh Commission’s recommendations. Besides, he said Bhawanipatna is the central town in KBK, which is convenient to Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, etc. Location wise Bhawanipatna also takes the interest of majority of southern Odisha districts like Gajapati, Kandhamal and Boudh. For the whole western bordering Odisha, from Motu in Malkangiri district to Balijod in Sundergarh district, Kesinga-Madanpur Rampur region of Kalahandi district would be an ideal and central location to meet the requirement of Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Gajapati etc in south Odisha to Jharsuguda, Sundergarh, Deogarh etc in western Odisha, he asserted.
He again said both West Bengal and Bihar having higher population than Odisha and do not have any additional high court bench besides their respective principal seat of the high court. In this regard, recommendation of two high court benches by Odisha’s CM seems political and does not seem to be practical solution. It rather serves to dilute the requirement in KBK, he said.
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