District plan panel heads appointed in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Friday revamped the district planning committees by appointing 19 ministers and 11 MLAs of the ruling BJD  as their heads in 30 districts. While none of the ministers will head the planning committees of their home district, former ministers and MLAs have been appointed to the post in their own districts. 

Three women and eight scheduled caste and scheduled tribe leaders have found a place in the list released on Friday. Two women ministers, Basanti Hembram and Pramila Mallick have been appointed as the chairpersons of Dhenkanal and Jagatsinghpur districts respectively. 

Similarly, Ranendra Pratap Swain and Naba Kishore Das will head the committees in Kendrapara and Kalahandi respectively. Works Minister Prafulla Mallick will head the committee in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s home district Ganjam while law minister Jagannath Sarka will be the chairperson of the Gajapati planning committee.  Sources said the process for appointment to different State-run public sector undertakings and Odisha State Planning Board (OSPB) will start soon.