Odisha has a bounty of natural resources but its people continue to languish in poverty due to continuous neglect by successive central governments. It’s been 30 years since the state first made demand for a special-category status. Way back in 1979, the then Janata Party government in Odisha, headed by Nilamani Routray, had raised this issue in the National Development Council (NDC).

Since 2001, the Odisha government has been vigorously pursuing the status. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has been placing this demand before former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the incumbent Manmohan Singh. Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, was also approached.

In the NDC meeting last year, Naveen babu demanded for modification of criteria to for granting a special-category status. Subsequently, in March this year, a motion was adopted by the Odisha Assembly to declare the state as a special-category one.

Naveen babu said the financial situation of the state has improved due to sincere efforts of his government. However, the economic base of the state is still small and vulnerable to natural calamities.

Though Odisha does not have an international border, the poverty situation here is acute. Despite this fact, the state has been making certain improvements in financial aspects over the past decade.

While special-category states such as Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and Uttarakhand have an international border, Odisha borders the Bay of Bengal.

Its 480-km coastline is prone to attack by foreign forces. Therefore, local conditions of Odisha are no better than that of special-category ones.

While the national average of the people living below poverty line (BPL) is 30 per cent, for Odisha, it is 37 per cent.

The BPL share in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir is only 10 per cent, the same remains 13 per cent and 18 per cent in Sikkim and Uttarakhand, respectively.

Odisha and Bihar are close in the poverty ratio. While Bihar has been given more funds under the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) and is certain to get special category status soon, there is no such possibility for Odisha. The per capita income in Odisha is Rs 40,412, which is low as compared to the national average of Rs 53,331. In Sikkim, the per capita income is around Rs 1 lakh. In Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, it is Rs 72,093 and Rs 68,000, respectively.

Odisha has more tribal and dalit population as compared to other special-category states. While the national average of ST and SC population is 25 per cent, it is 38.5 per cent in Odisha.

The ratio of tribal population in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand is less than five per cent, 20 per cent in Sikkim, 12 per cent in Assam and 11 per cent in Jammu and Kashmnir.

The tribal population in Odisha is 22 per cent. The infant and maternal mortality rates in Odisha are also higher than the national average.

With all these disadvantages, it is unfair to disqualify Odisha for the special-category status.

The objective of seeking this status is liberal funding from the Centre and tax breaks that special category states are entitled to, with a view to attract private investment in labour-intensive sectors to create more job opportunities and expedite development of the state.

Getting special category status is a right of the state. Odisha meets all required parameters except the international border. The state’s development can be faster if it is accorded the status.

The state has contributed to the national exchequer by way of royalty from mines, earning from railways and other taxes. While Odisha contributes a lot to the Centre, the state gets minimal help from it under a federal structure.

It’s time Odisha got its due.