BHUBANESWAR: Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy on Saturday assured the Assembly that Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) would not be shifted from Satyabadi. Admitting that he had given an oral order to the deputy director of agriculture (DDA), Puri, to shift the KVK, which is located on the premises of the Government agricultural farm at Satyabadi, to the nearby coconut research centre, the Minister said his directive was in response to the latest communication from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) that at least 50 acres of land is required for KVK. The Government has provided 40 acres to the KVK and alienating another 10 acres to the centre was not possible due to non-availability of Government land, he said. Alleging that the Minister is misleading the House by telling lies, Opposition Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan said Maharathy was trying to shift the KVK to his Assembly constituency Pipili. The nurseries developed in the KVK were destroyed by the officials of the Agriculture Department. However, the move to shift the KVK to Pipili did not materialise when ICAR threatened to close the centre in the district, he told the House. The wordy duel between the Agriculture Minister and the Congress leader, who belong to Puri district, continued for sometime during the debate on the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2011. Reiterating his Government’s commitment for the development of agriculture sector, the Minister said a proposal had been given to the Centre for opening three new KVKs in three tribal-dominated districts, including Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj.
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