BHUBANESWAR: DESPITE claims of the State Government that poverty has gone down in Odisha because of successful implementation of different welfare programmes, 32.59 per cent of the State’s population remains below the poverty line (BPL), which is one of the highest figures in the country. More than half of the districts are also behind the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) which is Rs 27,735 in the State. However, tribal dominated Sundargarh has topped in gross district domestic product (GDDP) followed by another tribal-dominated district Keonjhar.
While the total GDDP of Odisha is Rs 129,27,445 lakh, Sundargarh tops the list with Rs 11,32,011 lakh. According to official sources, the GDDP of Keonjhar is Rs 10,41,317 lakh while Deogarh, which is at the bottom of the list, has GDDP of Rs 75,326 lakh. The per capita net district domestic product (NDDP) of Odisha stands at Rs 27,735. More than half of the districts including Sonepur, Rayagada, Puri, Nuapada, Nayagarh, Nabarangpur, Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Kendrapara, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Gajapati, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Boudh, Balangir, Bhadrak, Bargarh and Balasore have low per capita NDDP than the Odisha average.
Angul district has the highest per capita NDDP of Rs 53,920 followed by Rs 51,134 of Jharsuguda. While Keonjhar district has per capita NDDP of Rs 50,609, Sundargarh has a per capita NDDP of Rs 42,706. Nabarangpur has the lowest per capita NDDP of Rs 16,195. Nayagarh, Puri and Kendrapara also have NDDP far less than the State average. Official sources said the GDDP of Keonjhar and Sundargarh is more compared to other districts because of trade in minerals. Angul, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar and Sundargarh, who top the list of per capita NDDP, have mines and industries. While the GSDP of Odisha was Rs 3,32,329 crore in 2015-16, it was Rs 2,25,283 crore in 2011-12.
