Indus Valley Times

As elections are underway to elect a new government in New Delhi, there are four Indian states that are voting simultaneously for Lok Sabha as well as for their state assemblies, ie. the Vidhan Sabha.  These states are Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

 As political pundits predict, Odisha is going to witness an interesting battle where the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by chief minister Naveen Patnaik  has held its fortress for over twenty five years now as a with little or no opposition to its electoral juggernaut. However, since 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the principal opposition to the BJD and is being increasingly seen a serious contender for power looking to unseat the ruling party, its own limitations notwithstanding.
Amid the buzz and euphoria surrounding elections, it is pertinent to look at what parties actually intend to do if elected to power. The BJD has already announced its ambitious target of converting Odisha into the most developed state of India by 2036, marking the statehood centenary.

The party’s confidence perhaps stems from its “credible leadership “ in the form its popular CM Naveen Patnaik, a slew of social welfare schemes aimed at the poor and disadvantaged and a host of transformative governance initiatives rolled out under the much touted ‘5T’ model. However, what should be the ideal roadmap or the blueprint for achieving the target of a ‘prosperous’ or a ‘Viksit’ Odisha. Whichever party gets a chance to rule the state for next five years should have a set of check lists to enable overall transformation of the state by adopting a multi-pronged approach.  Lets discuss by suggesting key policy ideas that needs to be undertaken in six critical sectors:

I. Education:  A radical overhaul of the education system, both primary and secondary is the need of the hour to harness the best human resource and derive maximum benefit of the demographic dividend. Filling up the large teaching vacancies in schools, colleges and universities on a priority basis, aligning school and college education with the emerging demands of industry and technological advancements like AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, Digital Sciences to equip the youth with employable skills and make them market ready. Restructuring of syllabus with adequate emphasis on skill development, vocational training, communication and soft skills. Opening more schools, colleges and universities in backward districts and blocks to reduce drop outs and eliminate knowledge poverty. Adequate focus on teacher training modules and priorotising B.Ed, CTET and NET holders in appointments. 

2. Health:  A comprehensive revamp of the health sector by filling up vacant positions of doctors and paramedics across DHHs and MCHs. Opening more specialist centres in  government hospitals for tertiary care, rejuvenating PHCs in rural areas and especially in tribal regions to improve health indicators. Ensure availability of essentials like medicines and medical equipment, ambulances and basic health infrastructure across all government hospitals. Opening medical colleges  and super speciality hospitals in all 30 districts of the state and free of cost medication, tests and health camps for urban middle class and poor people in cities. Beefing up sanitation and hygiene infrastructure including potable drinking water which is still a distant dream in many regions of our state. 

3. Employment: Doing away with contractual employment and ensuring permanent, secured jobs to all eligible candidates in public sector, diversifying the industrial mix by focusing on labour intensive industries and establishing manufacturing clusters in select nodes on lines of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Making Odisha a hub of critical and emerging technologies like Semiconductors, Fabrication, Data Processing, Mobile Phone manufacturing, Automobile, Biotechnology and Marine Food Processing. 

4. Agriculture: Making agriculture a viable and lucrative job through innovative practices, shift in cropping patterns from paddy to cash crops and horticulture and floriculture. Mechanisation and commercialization of agriculture is the need of the hour. Construction of cold storages, ensuring round the year irrigation and revitalising the procurement system and storage infrastructure. Encouraging students from Agriculture Universities to train farmers on practical benefits of crop diversification. Making Odisha self-sufficient in agriculture and promote dairy farming, poultry farming and pisciculture on a large scale. (on lines of neigbouring  Andhra Pradesh). 

5. Tourism: Converting Odisha into a leading tourist destination by augmenting infrastructure including connectivity and mobility, reviving ancient tourist and natural sites of cultural significance, promoting Odia culinary traits and generating huge employment prospects for the travel and  hospitality industry. 

6. Environment and Ecology: Odisha, a pristine coastal state, is already facing the brunt of nature’s fury from deadly heat waves to devastating cyclones, it is high time that we develop a comprehensive roadmap to mitigate meteorological hazards and ensure climate resilience. Afforestation on a large scale, adequate forest cover, ensure environmental compliance for all developmental activities, preserving precious forest resources and protecting wildlife. Transition towards renewable sources of energy including solar, wind and tidal energies, E-vehicles and accelerating steps towards making Odisha a carbon neutral state. 

Only by adopting a holistic, comprehensive, cohesive and consultative public administration and governance  mechanism can we ensure a secured, prosperous, progressive, inclusive, sustainable, futuristic and an empowered Odisha.

Pingakschya Pattanayak
PhD Scholar (Public Policy), Department of Political Science,
University of Delhi
Contact: pingakschyapatnaik@gmail.com