Odisha: BJD MP writes to Sitharaman, proposes fund sharing norm of 90:10 for Aspirational Districts

Odisha Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and has proposed changing fund sharing ratio between the Centre and state to 90:10 for Aspirational Districts.

Days after a war of words erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) following Niti Aayog’s report that underscored how Odisha was lagging behind in meeting the Self-Development Goals, BJD’s Amar Patnaik has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, proposing change in the fund sharing ratio between the Centre and state from 60:40 to 90:10 for the Aspirational Districts. Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik in his letter cited the Niti Aayog’s report and the United Nation’s acknowledgment of the Niti Aayog’s strategy of pulling up the 100 most backwards district of the country under the Aspirational Districts Programme. The Aspirational District Programme focuses on convergence and monitoring of most backward districts in the country so that it not only improves country’s overall economic growth parameters, but also addresses serious regional inequity issues persisting in the country.