BJP, Congress slam ‘lacklustre’ Odisha budget

Sethi said the promises made by the government before the election have remained unfulfilled as it lacks resources. He said it fails to address concerns related to economy and rising unemployment.
For representational purposes (Express Illustration)
For representational purposes (Express Illustration)

BHUBANESWAR: The Opposition BJP and Congress on Monday criticised the state government for placing a ‘lacklustre’ and ‘directionless’ budget and said it failed to address the key concerns relating to the economy and increasing unemployment.

Describing the budget for 2019-20 a big letdown, Deputy Leader of the BJP Legislature Party Bishnu Sethi said there is nothing new in it.

The state government seems to have run out of ideas, he said.

Leading the Opposition attack while initiating the discussion on budget in the Assembly, Sethi said the promises made by the government before the election have remained unfulfilled as it lacks resources.

The budget for the current fiscal is prepared on anticipated allocation from the Centre which is more than 50 per cent of the total outlay.

As bulk of the budget will be consumed in salary and pension, the government is left with little money for plan expenditure, he said.

The total administrative expenditure is estimated at Rs 57,310 crore, which includes Rs 25,500 crore for salaries, Rs 13,300 crore for pension, Rs 6,500 crore for interest payment and Rs 4,840 crore for maintenance of capital assets.

The revenue income of the state is pegged at Rs 45,500 crore which is only 32 per cent of the total budget.

As the revenue expenditure exceeds the revenue receipt, Sethi said the state government has to meet its revenue deficit through market borrowing to the tune of Rs 23,734 crore.

Dismissing Finance Minister Niranjn Pujari’s claim that budget 2019-20 is growth-oriented as the state has been able to restrict the fiscal deficit by 3.9 per cent which is within the limit of 3.5 per cent mandated under Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the BJP leader wondered as to why a large number of people are migrating to other States in search of livelihood if the economy of Odisha is growing.

Coming down heavily on the government for poor industrialisation in the state, Sethi said major project proponents like Posco and Arcellor Mittal had to shelve their projects due to lack of political will of the BJD Government.

Accusing the state government of neglecting farmers, he said the farming communities are getting their due after the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre.

Senior Congress leader Suresh Kumar Routray also slammed the state government for its failure to mobilise resources for development works.

He said the KALIA scheme is more to hoodwink farmers rather than doing any good to them.

Ruling party members including Amar Prasad Satpathy, Prafulla Samal and Arabinda Dhali praised the budget saying it will boost the economy.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com