Bhubaneswar: Following the state government’s example, the Modi government has appointed bureaucrats in charge of eight backward districts of the state to monitor execution of developmental activities.
The Centre has appointed additional secretary and joint secretary rank officers at as prabhari (in-charge) of 115 backward districts, including eight in Orissa, across the nation.
As per an order of Centre issued to this effect, Aparajita Sarangi has been appointed as district prabhari of Kalahandi, Jatindra Nath Swain would look after Dhenkanal, Nikunja Kumar Sundarray for Kandhamal, Satyabrata Sahu for Rayagada, Barun Mitra for Koraput, Suresh Kumar Vasishth for Bolangir, Sanjeev Kumar Chadha for Gajapati and Santosh Kumar Sarangi for Malkangiri. All these bureaucrats are Orissa cadre and are now on Central deputation, sources said.
These officers will coordinate the efforts of the Centre and the states by addressing specific developmental needs of the districts. This move is in consonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a New India by 2022.
Prabhari officers will assist the district administration in sharing the vision for 2022 to ensure the convergence of the efforts of Central and state government and to set up a robust mechanism to monitor the improvements in key outcomes in the district.
To execute the initiative in the state, the state government has to sign an MoU with the Centre. Accordingly, the NITI Aayog has requested the state government to sign the memorandum and appoint secretary-level officers as nodal officers for the eight districts.
Besides, the Aayog has also requested the state government to form a panel headed by the Chief Secretary to monitor the team of officers at state-level. The state government can also suggest changing of the identified districts, they said.
Earlier, Naveen Patnaik had appointed four senior IAS officers in charge of four backward districts of Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Nuapada to monitor development of agriculture, irrigation, rural electrification, connectivity, drinking water and social infrastructure.
The state government has so far not taken any concrete step on this proposal of the Centre, the source said.
Reacting to the move, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said, “First they have withdrawn the funds allocated by UPA government for backward regions. From that, they made their stand clear on their love for development of backward districts of the state. The selection of backward district is also questionable.”
BJD MP Kalikesh Singh Deo questioned the selection of districts for the programme. “Many backward districts in KBK region like Nabarangpur, Sonepur, Nupada have been left out. They are not granting special fund for our state. This scheme is also not going to benefit the state,” Singh Deo said
PNN
