BHUBANESWAR: The meeting of the council of ministers and the state cabinet will be held on Monday to approve the budget for 2023-24 which is likely to be the last before the 2024 election. The state government is planning to present the highest-ever annual budget likely to touch Rs 2.5 lakh crore at the council of ministers’ meeting to be presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
However, the budget has assumed significance as the state government is expected to announce new schemes related to free rice and housing. Centre’s decision to merge the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) with National Food Security Act (NFSA) has left the state government in a very difficult situation. The rice distributed per person has now come down from 10 kg per month to 5 kg per month. The ruling BJD has also decided to launch an agitation in front of all panchayat offices from February 15 demanding the reintroduction of PMGKAY in its original form.
In this background, it is expected that the state government will also launch its own rice scheme to cover the poor including the left-out families in the entire state. Besides, a decision is also likely to be taken in the housing front as the ruling BJD has reiterated its demand for seven lakh more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to cover all eligible beneficiaries under the scheme.
The Centre has already released 27.5 lakh in two phases. Besides, the chief minister is also expected to visit Padampur on February 19 to keep a promise made while campaigning for the bypoll to the Assembly held on December 5.