 "Working expeditiously to remove investment bottlenecks: Naveen Patnaik")
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik spoke to Business Standard on key issues facing his government in reviving the state's economic growth. Edited excerpts:
Odisha has abundance of natural resources. But the state has not yet realised its full growth potential. What in your view is coming in its way?
Yes, we are rich in natural resources and we have received large investments in the past decade. With large investments, you often have problems like environment and rehabilitation issues. We are trying to sort those out, so that industries could come up in Odisha.
The problems with those two companies will be sorted out. As you can see in reports today, the prime minister has even spoken to the South Korean President to resolve the Posco issue expeditiously.
It is feared some recent issues like the chit-fund scam and the mining problems might vitiate the state's environment climate. How serious do you think are these issues?
Ever since we took office 15 years ago, we have tried to run a transparent government and taken strict action to quell such crimes. So far as the fiscal situation is concerned, we have come a long way from the ghastly state in 2000. Today, we are a revenue-surplus state and financially much stable.
You are one of the few Indian chief ministers who have had uninterrupted three straight terms. You surely have achieved a lot in the past 14 years. Where do you see the state 20 years from now?
We have made a rapid progress in sectors like irrigation, agriculture and infrastructure. Our anti-poverty programmes and pro-poor schemes for women and tribal people have been successful. I hope Odisha is on course to become a very prosperous state in the future.
What kind of equation does the state share with the new Narendra Modi-led central government, and what possibilities does it hold?
I hope the new central government will take constructive steps and meet Odisha's demands.
What about Odisha's demand for a special-category status?
That is our demand and we are working towards that.
Odisha has abundance of natural resources. But the state has not yet realised its full growth potential. What in your view is coming in its way?
Yes, we are rich in natural resources and we have received large investments in the past decade. With large investments, you often have problems like environment and rehabilitation issues. We are trying to sort those out, so that industries could come up in Odisha.
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There has been the Posco story, and the Vedanta story. Do you have a specific action plan to overcome such investment bottlenecks?
The problems with those two companies will be sorted out. As you can see in reports today, the prime minister has even spoken to the South Korean President to resolve the Posco issue expeditiously.
It is feared some recent issues like the chit-fund scam and the mining problems might vitiate the state's environment climate. How serious do you think are these issues?
Ever since we took office 15 years ago, we have tried to run a transparent government and taken strict action to quell such crimes. So far as the fiscal situation is concerned, we have come a long way from the ghastly state in 2000. Today, we are a revenue-surplus state and financially much stable.
You are one of the few Indian chief ministers who have had uninterrupted three straight terms. You surely have achieved a lot in the past 14 years. Where do you see the state 20 years from now?
We have made a rapid progress in sectors like irrigation, agriculture and infrastructure. Our anti-poverty programmes and pro-poor schemes for women and tribal people have been successful. I hope Odisha is on course to become a very prosperous state in the future.
What kind of equation does the state share with the new Narendra Modi-led central government, and what possibilities does it hold?
I hope the new central government will take constructive steps and meet Odisha's demands.
What about Odisha's demand for a special-category status?
That is our demand and we are working towards that.