Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Wednesday reiterated its demand to include Odisha in the industrial corridor of the country to connect industries of the state with the national units.
The demand was raised in the House by BJD MLA Sanjay Das Burma who said that Odisha deserves to be included in the industrial corridor which covers many states. Burma raised the demand during Zero Hour in the Assembly.
Burma said, “Odisha has not been connected through the industrial corridor. We have around 400-km coastline with rich resources and industries. If the corridor includes Odisha it can create more employment and boost industrial growth in the state.”
“The state had written letters to former Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and the Centre demanding inclusion of Odisha in the corridor, but in vain. I request the Centre to consider including Odisha in the corridor,” he added.
However, the MLA found it difficult to speak in the House as several Opposition MLAs were raising slogans and thumping on the desk of the Speaker to draw attention to their demands.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to the Centre demanding inclusion of Odisha in the industrial corridor by extending the Vizag –Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) to Balasore. However, the proposal was not considered during the first phase of VCIC.
At present, some of the functional industrial corridors are the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Vizag–Chennai Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor and Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor.
The demand was earlier made by party MPs in the Lok Sabha and written requests were sent to the Union Commerce and Industries Ministry.
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