Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Tuesday said that it will reconsider the Centre’s proposal to appoint ‘Prabhari (In-Charge) Officers’ in backward districts to review implementation of various welfare schemes, but with some riders.
As per reports, the State has urged the Aayog to exclude Dhenkanal from the list of nine districts identified for the programme and include Nuapada and Nabarangpur districts.
Other demands of the State include:
- ‘Prabhari Officers’ appointed by the Centre must work in coordination with the officers nominated by the State government for each identified backward district
- The officers must discuss with the State before submitting any report to the Centre
- Centre must create an independent fund for the programme
- Restoration of Central assistance to backward areas that has been curtailed to some extent
Speaking to the media, Odisha Finance Minister Sashibhusan Behera today said, “We have reconsidered the request of the Niti Aayog. We are ready to consider Centre’s proposal if the changes proposed by the State government are accepted.”
Chief Secretary Aditya Padhi said that the revised proposal of the State in this regard has already been sent to the Centre.
The Odisha government recently passed a resolution to appoint its own officers as observers to take stock of various government programmes after rejecting the Centre’s plan to appoint senior officers as in-charge officers of backward districts to review implementation of government schemes.