Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said the Union Budget for 2013-14 has belied the hopes of the common man.
‘’It is totally disappointing. The Budget does not have any special measures to contain inflation, which is seriously haunting the Aam Aadmi’,” the Chief Minister remarked. The Budget presented by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram contains no significant policy intervention to revive the growth in the economy, tackle inflation and ensure food security to the poor, he said in his reaction to the Budget.
‘’The budgetary allocation for implementation of the Food Security Bill is grossly inadequate. It will remain as an expression of intent without any commitment,” the CM said.
Accusing the Centre of bypassing the developmental needs of the people of the State, Naveen said there is no significant allocation for the development of the farm sector. Over 60 per cent of the State’s population depend on agriculture.
While the Central assistance to the State Plan has been drastically reduced in the revised estimates of the current financial year, there was only marginal increase in the budget estimate for 2013-14.
Similarly, there is a substantial cut in the budgetary allocation for accelerated irrigation benefit programme (AIBP) both in the revised estimates and the budget estimates, the Chief Minister said.
Naveen also slammed the Centre for not making full provision of Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation to the State in the Budget.