Odisha CM To Skip NITI Aayog Meet In Mumbai

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will not attend the high-powered committee meeting of chief ministers formed by the NITI Aayog.

However, Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahu will attend the meeting, which will kick off in Mumbai on Friday.

The meeting will discuss ways to transform the agricultural sector and raise the income of farmers. This follows a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NITI Aayog governing council meeting this June.

The committee would also suggest modalities for the adoption and time-bound implementation of the Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2017’ and the Agriculture Produce and Livestock, Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018, Sahu said before leaving for Mumbai.

The committee would also examine various provisions of the Essential Commodity Act (ECA), 1955 and suggest changes to attract private investments in agricultural marketing and infrastructure.

The nine-member committee will be chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The other committee members comprise the Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh as well as Union Rural Development and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand.

The committee is expected to submit a report on the deliberations in two months.