Will discuss demands of State with PM
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is currently on a six-day visit to New Delhi, is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
Sources said Patnaik would hold discussions on various demands of the State with the Prime Minister. It would be his second meeting with Modi after the latter formed the Government at the Centre in May this year.
The Chief Minister would seek disbursement of mining royalty retrospectively from 2007, the sources said. The Centre had in August raised royalty on many minerals. While royalty rate for manganese ore was raised from 4.2 per cent to 5 per cent, royalty for iron ore and chromite was raised from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Bauxite rates were raised from 0.5 per cent to 0.6 per cent. Patnaik would also reiterate the State’s demand of Rs 1,397 crore for the coming Nabakalebar festival at Puri, sources added.
The other demands which Patanik is likely to raise before Modi include lowering of height of the proposed Polavaram dam of Andhra Pradesh, clearances for the largest FDI project Posco, more Central forces for anti-Maoist operations and Central intervention for operation of international flights from the Biju Patnaik Airport at the earliest. Patnaik is scheduled to return to the State on Tuesday.