BHUBANESWAR: BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bhubaneswar Aparajita Sarangi on Monday raised the issue of unemployment and debt burden of households in Odisha in the Parliament. She urged the Speaker to direct Centre to seek a report from State government in this regard.
Sarangi said even as one particular political party has been in power in the State for last two decades, Odisha is the poorest in the country in terms of average asset value of rural households. The Parliamentarian sought to know the plan of action the Odisha government has put in place to decrease the debt burden and increase employment opportunities in the State.
She pointed out that the All-India debt and Investment Survey Report released recently by the National Statistical Office, has revealed that Odisha is the poorest State as far as average asset value per household is concerned.
"This includes a whopping 46.4 per cent of cultivator households which is a matter of utmost concern," she said. Sarangi also mentioned that as per the Centre for Monitoring for Indian Economy, unemployment rate in Odisha is 23.5 per cent which is much higher than the national average.