Odishatv Bureau
New Delhi/Bhubaneswar:  The state government on Friday suggested the Centre to set up a single window system to expedite the statutory clearances required for the greenfield projects in the state. This was informed by state Housing and Urban Development Minister Raghunath Mohanty who along with Water Resources secretary Suresh Mohapatra attended the National Water Council (NWC) meeting on behalf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in New Delhi.

“A single window system is very much required for the statutory clearances of projects, absence of which the state is experiencing acceleration of project costs and inordinate delay in execution level. We have suggested the Centre to set up such a system through the Ministry of Water Resources,” said Mohanty.

The state also suggesting for the formation of a central task force, stated that the presence of such units would help mitigate flood related issues and drainage system as well during monsoon.

“The eastern belt states experience good seasonal rains during monsoon. Since we don't have adequate mass storage system for rain water, we fail to utilise it properly which can be useful for our irrigation system. We have placed a proposal in this regard before the Centre,” said Mohapatra.

Odisha at the NWC meet too took up the controversial Polavaram issue and alleged that the Centre had favoured the Andhra Pradesh government in obtaining forest clearances. According to an official release, the submergence of tribal lands in Malkangiri district has not been adequately addressed before giving clearances for the project.

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