Unfazed over the BJD Government’s rhetoric of Central neglect in general and on hue and cry over the issue of granting special category status to the State in particular, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday asserted that Odisha was getting enough special Central assistance under various plans to carry out development activities. Singh was here on a one-day visit to the State on Tuesday.
Singh, after conducting a visit to the Horticulture Research Institute, Dears, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, responded to queries of the mediapersons on the demand for special category tag for Odisha. He said, “It is not in his hands to grant such status to the State.”
He clarified that the issue of special category status to Seemandhra was taken by the Parliament due to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. However, he admitted that Odisha, being a poor State, should get the special tag.
Singh further said that Odisha was getting enough assistance from the Union Government under various plan and non-plan schemes to carry out development activities, besides the special assistance under the BRGF and the KBK.
The Deputy Chairman appreciated the use of modern technology in horticulture and stressed the need for eliminating number of intermediaries between farmers and consumers. Appreciating the State Government’s initiative to provide fresh vegetables to the consumers through the Udyan Fresh, he said it is a farmer- to- consumer model, which could be replicated in other States as well.