Here’re demands Odisha CM likely to place before NITI Aayog

New Delhi: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will raise various demands for Odisha at the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled today.

Patnaik is likely to press for more funds for the state affected by Cyclone FANI. Also, the special category status is likely to be in focus.

“I will be bringing up important matters for Odisha such as more funds for Cyclone FANI and also the special category status for the state,” Patnaik told media in New Delhi ahead of attending the meeting.

Notably, Patnaik will attend the NITI Aayog’s fifth governing council meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhawan before making his way back to Bhubaneswar today.

During his 7-day tour to New Delhi after formation of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha for fifth time, the CM met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan with whom he discussed state’s issues.

This would be the first meeting of the planning body after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance formed the government at the centre for the second consecutive term after a landslide victory in the recently concluded general elections.

The meeting will be attended by chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, union ministers and senior government officials. However, three Chief Ministers – Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, K Chandrashekar Rao of Telangana and Amarinder Singh of Punjab – are skipping the meet.