Bhubaneswar, May 21: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has assured the Bhasa Surakshya Sammilani, which works for the cause of the Odia language, to implement the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954, in letter and spirit and examine the demand for a language commission.

Bhasa Surakshya Sammilani president Baishnab Parida said: "We had a fruitful discussion with the chief minister. Though the state government had last year announced it would ensure the use of Odia in official work, it has not yet been implemented. Steps should be taken to implement Odia language in administrative work."

Parida said only if the Odisha government constituted a language commission could the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954, be implemented in the state. He said: "Only a language commission can supervise whether official work is being done in Odia or not. The language commission should be given the status of a quasi judicial body."

In the meeting, members of the Bhasa Surakshya Sammilani submitted a draft plan on how the language commission could be constituted and what its functions should be.

"We have also explained to the chief minister that once the language commission is constituted, it would help the administrative machinery to prepare a software on Odia. The commission will also help in preparing training courses for government employees and expedite the work in preparing a dictionary exclusively to deal with official work," said Parida.

He said an officer could not force others to do their work in Odia but a language commission would be able to do this effectively.