Jayant Sinha urges Odisha to vote for BJP in upcoming polls to speed up development

Accusing the BJD government of stalling projects worth Rs 1.36 lakh crore in Odisha, Union Minister Jayant Sinha Sunday said the BJP should be voted to power at the Centre and the state as "double engines" speed up development. Citing an example, Sinha claimed that development has gained momentum in the BJP-ruled Jharkhand with the help of such "double engines", benefitting all sections of society.

"We are not getting cooperation from the Odisha government for the implementation of many projects. Therefore, the same party (BJP) should be in power at the Centre and state for speedy progress powered by double engines," the Minister of State for Civil Aviation told reporters here. Hitting out at the BJD government in Odisha ahead of the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, Sinha claimed that projects involving an investment of over Rs 1.36 lakh crore were blocked due to "lack of cooperation" from the state government.

There has been undue delay in land acquisition and necessary clearances for many projects in oil, coastal highway, railways and other sectors, he said urging the state government to extend necessary cooperation for smooth and timely implementation of central projects. "The Centre and the state will work in tandem in perfect coordination for the overall growth of the country if the same party forms government at both the places," he said.

Asserting that the Centre is committed to strengthening the aviation sector in Odisha, the Union Minister said a state-of-the-art new terminal is being built at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar with an investment of Rs 935 crore. The new terminal, to be ready in about two years, will raise the passenger handling capacity of the airport from the existing 30 lakh to over 90 lakh, he said.

Expansion of Bhubaneswar airport is essential as it is one of the fastest growing airports in the country with around 40 per cent annual passenger growth, the minister said. Seven new aero bridges are being added to the existing four, while parking arrangements are being streamlined and modified. Vehicles coming to the airport to drop and pick up passengers will be exempted from parking charges from April 1, he said.

Pointing out that the Centre is chalking out plans keeping in mind the projected requirement for the next 25 years, Sinha said the state government has been asked to expedite land acquisition for a proposed second airport for Bhubaneswar. However, necessary cooperation from the state is not available for quick action, he claimed and said: "double engines will certainly be of immense help in such a situation."

To a query, Sinha said the Narendra Modi government fully believes in the concept of "cooperative federalism" and GST council is an example in this regard. "The BJD government in the state does not believe in cooperative federalism .. this approach is creating hurdles in development activities," he said.

The minister said regular flight services will soon commence from Jharsuguda airport to important cities including Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Sinha said many new airports are coming up in the state and work at Rourkela and Jeypore are almost complete. A proposal for setting up an airport in Paradip is also being evaluated, he said. The new airports will be connected through UDAN scheme for which an amount of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for Odisha, the minister said.

(With inputs from agencies.)