"I request you to consider establishment of an LIC Zonal Office at Bhubaneswar at the earliest to meet the long cherished aspirations of the LIC customers in Odisha," he wrote to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Stating that the state government was making all out efforts to ensure 100 financial inclusion in Odisha in a time bound manner, he said one of the most important pillars of meaningful financial inclusion is the easy availiability of insurance products to the vulnerable sections of the society, specially people in the rural unorganised sector.
Ever since bifurcation of LIC's Zonal Office in Kolkata in 2006, Odisha is being served by its eastern central zonal office headquartered in Patna, he said.
As there are no direct flights or conveninent daily train services from Bhubaneswar to Patna, policy holders from Odisha particularly senior citizens, women, the physically challenged and those belonging to the BPL category are facing a lot of difficulties in communication with the Patna Zonal Office for redressal of their grievances.
Odisha government, he said, had already allotted five acres to LIC HFL Care Homes at nominal rates, in addition to one acre for the establishment of a new office.
Further there has not been any nomination from Odisha to the LIC Board since 1980 and it was high time that the anomaly was rectified so that the collective aspiration of the people of Odisha finds a voice in the highest decision making body of the organisation, Patnaik added.