Panel Recommends Formation Of Odisha Vidhan Parishad In Line With Telangana

Bhubaneswar: The special committee constituted by Odisha government, which had recently visited Bihar and Telangana to study the functioning of the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council), has recommended the formation of a Vidhan Sabha in the state in line with Telangana.

The committee, led by its chairman Nrushingha Charan Sahu and other members, submitted a 7-page report to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here on Friday.

The committee, in its report, has recommended that the salary and perks of the Vidhan Sabha member should be at par with the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).

Regarding the constitution of the Vidhan Parishad, the committee has recommended that there should be a maximum 49 members in the Parishad, of which the Governor would nominate nine eminent personalities from different fields.

Of the remaining 40 members, four will be nominated by teachers’ associations, four by the graduates of the state, 16 members by the MLAs and 16 by the elected panchayat and civic body members.

The committee has also recommended that like the MLAs, the Vidhan Parishad members should be entitled to Local Area Development (LAD) fund. Besides, they should be given the opportunity to become ministers.

“The Chief Minister has assured that he would examine the report of the committee. A resolution on the formation of the Vidhan Parishad would be tabled in the State Assembly in its next session,” Manohar Randhari, one of the members of the committee, told mediapersons here.

The committee had earlier visited Maharashtra and Karnataka in 2015 to learn about the formation and functioning of the Vidhan Parishad and submitted its report to the state government.

The first meeting of the committee on Vidhan Parishad was convened on January 19, 2015.

According to political analysts, the BJD leadership, taking note of the growing dissension in the party, has decided to appease the disgruntled leaders by rehabilitating them as members of Vidhan Parishad.