Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra
Pradhan wrote to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday to include
eight districts of Odisha in ‘aspirational districts’ list.
“The decision regarding non-inclusion of eight backward
districts-Rayagada, Kalahandi, Dhenkanal, Balangir, Koraput,
Malkangiri, Kandhamal and Gajapati should be reconsidered”, Pradhan
said in his letter.
The Union Minister added that steps should be initiated to built
Odisha a pioneering state and special emphasis be placed to protect
the interests of the people.
“The Minister further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
feeling that the dream of a developed country cannot be fulfilled
without developing the eastern region. Odisha has a prominent role in
this vision. Therefore, we should start this mass movement in the year
2018. It is our duty to form a new India and a new Odisha by 2022”,
the letter read.
