Bhubaneswar: The BJD parliamentary board on Saturday decided to step up its attack on the Centre during its second phase of the budget session starting Monday. The session will end on March 6.

Apart from taking up the controversial Mahanadi water-sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh, it would also raise issues such as special-category state status for Odisha, minimum support price for paddy, reconstruction of the standing committees of Parliament, coal royalty revision and other issues concerning the development of Odisha.

However, the party again reiterated that it would maintain an equal distance from both the NDA and the UPA.

After the parliamentary party meeting chaired by BJD president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, party MP Kalikesh Singh Deo told reporters: "We will demand expediting the process of setting up of Mahanadi tribunal to resolve the water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Besides raking up the issue of inter state water dispute, we will also raise the issue of Polavaram dam project, being constructed by the Andhra Pradesh government and how the state is going to be affected by it."

The MPs were told that the construction of Polavaram project before settlement of pending issues by the apex court would cause permanent injury to the interests of Odisha.

The party MPs have been instructed to demand bringing Odisha under one railway zone with three new divisions. Singh Deo said: "We will also demand special assistance for backward KBK (Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi) region and other prominent issues in the interest of Odisha.

The party will also demand the reorganisation of various standing committees of Parliament. Sources said the BJD's suspended MP, Baijayant "Jay" Panda, was a member of various standing committees and the party did not want him continue as member of these. "It's a move to clip his wings further and put pressure on him to resign from the MP post," said a senior leader.

Party MP Nagendra Pradhan said: "We will work to safeguard the interests of Odisha. We will work in a more co-ordinated way to bring more central grants for the state."

The party's parliamentary board also decided to take up the issue of raising minimum support price of paddy.

Siddhant Mohapatra said: "We will press our demand to raise the minimum support price on paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal against the existing rate of Rs 1,559 per quintal."

Another major issue that the MPs were asked to take up was the non-revision of coal royalty.

"The royalty on coal was due for revision in April 2015. It is a serious economic injustice to Odisha," an MP quoted Naveen as saying at the meeting.

The other issues that the MPs have been asked to take up in the Parliament are the fund-sharing pattern of centrally sponsored schemes, reimbursement of the cost of deployment of central armed police forces in the Maoist-hit areas and low telecom connectivity in these areas.