Bhubaneswar, Jan. 25: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today appointed nine of his BJD MLAs as heads of the district planning committees ahead of a possible ministry rejig.

These leaders will enjoy the status of a minister of state. The exercise to accommodate ministerial aspirants in the planning bodies has left some of nominated MLAs grumbling as this will effectively scuttle their chances of being included in the council of ministers. The chief minister is expected to announce nominees for 21 other district planning committees.

"This nomination is at best a consolation prize. It's actually humiliating. I see the hand of my rivals behind this. They don't want me to become a minister," said a senior MLA, who has been made the head of one of the nine district planning committees.

The MLAs to have been appointed as committee chairpersons are Balabadhra Majhi (Kalahandi), Sushant Singh (Bargarh), Nrisingha Charan Sahoo (Dhenkanal), Prashant Kumar Muduli (Jagatsinghpur), Ramesh Chandra Choupatnaik (Ganjam), Hrusikesh Naik (Keonjhar), Manohar Randhari (Nabarangpur), Sashi Bhusan Behera (Khurda) and Mahesh Sahoo (Angul).

The appointments came in the wake of state cabinet on January 16 clearing the proposal for amendment to the Office of the Profits Act, 1961. The minister of state status that the appointees would enjoy would entitle them to bigger official accommodations, government vehicles, staff and financial benefits. At present, these bodies are headed by ministers.

Party sources said that grumbling by a few notwithstanding, the government is hopeful that appointment of the MLAs as the district planning committee chairpersons would help give a push to projects at the grassroots level. Besides, it would also help the government effectively deal with the Opposition attack on various issues, including farmer suicides.

More importantly, the move would help the BJD in the panchayat elections scheduled between November 2016 and February 2017.

"I will ensure that the government's programme percolated down to the grassroots level," said Manhor Randhahi, the two-time MLA from Nabarangpur.

Former Rajya Sabha member and two-time MLA Sashi Bhusan Behera said: "Whatever job Naveen babu assigns me, I will try to do it to the best of my abilities."

Erasama-Balikuda MLA Prashanta Muduli, named for the Jagatsinghpur board, said: "I will try to hasten the work of the government at the district level."

Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra said: "Infighting in the BJD has compelled the party to accommodate its MLAs in statutory bodies. The decision has not been taken in the interest of the state, but in the interest of the ruling party."

BJP state president Basant Panda said: "When the state is passing through a financial crisis, there is no need for the government to spend money on the rehabilitation of their party MLAs in the district planning board. The move is aimed at checking infighting in the party which has been growing."