Union minister faces 'non-cooperation' in Odisha
Bhubaneswar: Annoyed at the alleged non-cooperation of the Koraput district collector of Koraput and the local BJD MLA, Union minister Dr Sanjeev Balyan on Tuesday said all should be united for development irrespective of the political affiliation of the visiting central minister.
Balyan, BJP leader and Union minister of state for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, was in Koraput to review progress of the Centre's developmental programmes being implemented in aspirational districts.
However, the district magistrate-cum collector and the local MLA were absent at the meeting.
The union minister held the review meeting with the district's project director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA).
I was here to review the developmental works in the district. It would have been better had the collector and MLA present at the meeting. I was expecting that the local people's representative will speak about the difficulties of the people, but he did not turn up.
"We may belong to different political parties but our aim should be one - to serve the people of Odisha and Koraput in particular, Balyan told reporters.
He urged the district administration and local leaders to cooperate with the Centre for implementation of welfare schemes for the poor people of Koraput.
Balyan said the aspirational district development programme is implemented with the objective of development and not to do politics.
According to sources, as many as 10 Union ministers including Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw will visit 10 aspirational districts of Odisha to review developmental works undertaken at the ground level in the coming days.
The Centre launched the Transformation of Aspirational Districts' initiative in January 2018 to improve India's ranking under Human Development Index by raising the living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth for all.
