Bhubaneswar: Three high-power committees headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik have never met since they were formed, while four panels - including the State Planning Board - had their last sitting in 2007.

The state government had evinced interest in the port sector development as Odisha has a 480-km-long coastline. Some 14 potential port sites had also been identified and the state Sagarmala project was formed after the Centre came out with an institutional framework for development of port infrastructure.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik was nominated the member of National Sagarmala Apex Committee and the state's commerce and transport minister had also attended its first meeting held on October 5, 2015, in Delhi.

However, the State Sagarmala Committee has never met. This startling fact was revealed during state planning and convergence minister Usha Devi's reply to a question from BJP MLA Dilip Ray last month.

Similarly, not a single meeting of the Odisha Skill Development Mission, which Naveen heads, has been held. This when the state government has been attaching importance to skill development to increase youth employability. The state government has in between set up the Odisha Skill Development Authority.

The Naveen-headed High-Power Employment Mission has also not met after 2007, even though Odisha is reeling from acute unemployment problem. Official records mention that more than nine lakh youths in the state are jobless.

The Odisha State Wildlife Board, also headed by the chief minister, has not met even once, though the state has been witnessing man-animal conflicts and casualty of wild animals very frequently.

The State Planning Board, the highest planning body of Odisha, had last met on October 15, 2007, though the government has been reconstituting the panel from time to time.