Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik raised the Special Category Status issue before the Niti Aayog on Saturday, four days after pushing for the ‘Special Focus State’ status for the state in view of its vulnerability to natural calamities. Attending the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, Patnaik demanded that natural calamity be included as a criterion for according Special Category Status to Odisha.
“As an interim measure, states hit by major natural calamities may be declared as Special Focus States and granted benefits of Special Category Status for a specific period,” the chief minister said.
Patnaik had raised the same demand during a meeting with Modi on June 11.