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Naveen urges Central aid to Orissa

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Camaraderie: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik (centre) sharing a lighter moment with his Gujarat and Punjab counterparts Narendra Modi and Prakash Singh Badal during the 54th National Development Council meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged the Centre to extend a series of assistance to Orissa in order to enable it achieve a growth rate of nine per cent during the 11th Five Year Plan period.

Speaking at the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi, Mr. Patnaik demanded that the Centre should grant Income Tax and Central Excise exemption for 10 years for the Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput districts to promote industrialisation in this backward region.

According to an official release, the Chief Minister said that a three-pronged strategy was required to tackle the challenging task of reduction of regional, social and gender disparities and achieving faster, broad-based and inclusive growth.

There should be increased flow of untied Central assistance to less developed States; provision of greater fiscal space for such States for mobilising higher resources; and swapping high cost debt, including small savings debt, with low cost loans to help them reduce their debt burden, Mr. Patnaik said.

Speaking about the various initiatives that his government had started to achieve a higher growth rate during the 11th plan period, Mr. Patnaik said employment generation measures had been put on a mission mode for achieving convergence of resources and activities under different programme to generate more employment opportunities for the unemployed people.

The development of small-scale industries in clusters and ancillary units are also being given more attention during the 11th plan, he said.

The other assistance that Mr. Patnaik sought from the Centre include higher allocation for infrastructure development in the areas of roads, ports, railways; enhancement of funding for the World Bank sponsored Orissa State Road Project; and increased support for the proposed Ranchi-Vijaywada Highway.

He also reiterated the demand for establishment of prestigious Central institutions such as IIT, IIM and IIIT in the State to meet the growing need of skilled manpower for upcoming industries.

The Chief Minister also demanded timely revision of royalty on coal and other minerals, on ad valorem basis and equitable share of export duty levied by the Centre on major minerals to the mineral-bearing States.

As the State was set to witness setting up of several mega power projects, Mr. Patnaik demanded just and adequate compensation for power producing States which bear the brunt of pollution and displacement.

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