Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is a strong believer in the idea of cooperative federalism and has always sought to maintain the best of relations with the Centre. This model of federalism presupposes a spirit of understanding and accommodation between the Centre and the states. The approach has worked fine for Patnaik so far, but Odisha expects the Centre to be more generous towards the state considering its vulnerability to natural disasters, especially cyclones, which have been battering it almost every year.
Odisha’s demand for special category status stems from the growing perception that the state urgently needs special central assistance to tackle the aftermath of natural disasters, which have become a recurring problem. Even though Patnaik has been raising this demand ever since he took up the reins of the state in 2000, it is yet to be conceded.
While Patnaik remains committed to it and has been raising it at all possible for a, the demand for special category status to Odisha has also drawn support from economic experts who agree that the state needs special attention of the Centre with sustained flow of central funds. They also concur with the state’s argument that natural calamity should be included as an indicator for the grant of special category status to states.
Patnaik has steadfastly stuck to the demand because Odisha has been facing one natural calamity after another since 2000 when he became Chief Minister of the state for the first time. The victory of the alliance led by him in those elections was also a reflection of people’s anger against the preceding Congress government for its utter failure to deal with the aftermath of 1999 super-cyclone, which was treated as a national calamity. The cyclone that left more than 10,000 dead and damaged lakhs of houses apart from standing crops in thousands of acres was the worst-ever experienced by the country and one of the most disastrous in the history of the world.
The recovery of the state from the disastrous after-effects of the super-cyclone is a testament to the administrative efficiency of Patnaik. This was well acknowledged by the people of the state who kept voting for him consistently in the subsequent elections. However, there is no denying the debilitating impact of the super-cyclone on the state’s economy as crores of rupees had to be spent on rehabilitation and restoration work.
Since then, the state has seen a succession of cyclones but none with the devastative severity of the 1999 cyclone. However, each of these cyclones has left a trail of destruction, causing extensive damage to public property and infrastructure. The agriculture and tourism sectors have also borne the brunt of these calamities. The government has been forced to spend heavily on rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the wake of each of these disasters.
The Government of Odisha, under the leadership of Patnaik, has done its best to limit the damage caused by these calamities – but, as everyone knows, they cannot be prevented. Hence, the state government needs enhanced financial support from the Centre to cope with the aftermath of such disasters. Maximizing such assistance is possible only if Odisha is granted special category status by the Centre. With due respect to the spirit of cooperative federalism, the Centre will do well to fulfil this long-time demand.
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