Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 23, 20115 :

In a bleated move, the Odisha government plans to revamp the state Planning Board [SPB] and develop it as a ‘Professional Think Tank’.

With the Union government doing away with the planning commission and constituting NITI (National Institute for Transforming India) Aayog, the state government had no option but to restructure the plan panel.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday directed the official to restructure the plan panel after holding the annual review meeting of the Planning and Coordination Department here.

The Odisha government was expected to take a lead among the states to change the SPB into a more professional and independent body. However, the rulers that be never gave importance to SPB as it has met only once in the last 11 years, says BJP national secretary, Suresh Pujari.

“While the state planning board has met only once in the last 11 years, the chief minister is trying to give it a new dimension without any thrust and commitment,” he remarked.

Officials, however said, a fresh look is being taken into the issue to make district-level policies proactive to remove regional disparity in the state as per Naveen’s direction.

The proposed professional think tank is likely to be comprised of persons with exemplary experience in polity, economy, administration, law and other fields.