Govt presses forward for empowered Odisha with Rs 1.50 lalkh crore budget

BHUBANESWAR: Setting a goal for a new and empowered Odisha, finance minister Niranjan Pujari on Tuesday presented a Rs 1.50 lakh crore budget for the 2020-21 financial year. This is the second budget for Pujari in Naveen Patnaik government’s fifth term in office and one which is in sync with the Centre’s ambition for a new India.
Reading his budget speech from a iPad in a major digital push that also not only helped the government save money in printing reams of pages, but also prevent cutting down on trees, Pujari said, “Now the stage is set to think big and aspire for a New Odisha — empowered Odisha — through a transformative agenda. This budget, therefore, focuses on creation of world-class infrastructure, transformative healthcare facilities and education services, robust eco-system for skills, sports, tourism, culture, industries and micro, small and medium enterprises.”
The budget has made significant allocation for some of the top priority areas like transforming Puri into a world-class heritage city, redevelopment of Lingaraj temple, up-gradation of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack to an AIIMS-plus institution and development of tourism infrastructure in various parts of the state.
While allocating funds for infrastructure development in sectors like health, education, road and tourism, the finance minister has struck a balance by making provisions for various social welfare schemes that has helped the BJD government to create a loyal support base over the years.
Even though the Naveen government has reduced its allocation under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (Kalia) scheme to Rs 4,000 from Rs 10,000 per year after it was merged with the Centre’s PM-Kisan scheme, an allocation of Rs 3,195 crore has been made for the 2020-21 fiscal.
In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the state government had earmarked Rs 5,611 crore under Kalia scheme that had worked as a game changer for the BJD government to retain power for a fifth consecutive term. The total outlay for agriculture and allied sector is estimated at Rs 19,408 crore.
To transform the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) into a centre of excellence for agricultural research and extension of global standard, an amount of Rs 150 crore has been allocated in the budget. A centre of excellence in veterinary science has also been announced with an allocation of Rs 10 crore.
While presenting the budget, the finance minister said they have given a stable government with steadily growing economy, poverty re-education, doubling farmers’ income, bringing Odisha into prominence in sports and tourism and making the state as the most favoured destination for investment in India.
Announcing an ambitious plan to develop in-stream barrages in all major rivers at an investment of Rs 12,000 crore in five years, the state government has allocated Rs 1,100 crore for the 2020-21 fiscal. A record allocation of Rs 3250 crore has been provided for water supply projects in the state.
While an outlay of Rs 65,655 has been made for administrative expenditure which is being spent on salary and pension of state government employees, another Rs 74,000 crore has been made for programme expenditure for various schemes and programmes. Similarly, Rs 3,200 crore will be spent on disaster management while Rs 7,145 crore will be transferred to local bodies like panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies.
In a significant move, the state government has also increased the MLA local area development (MLALAD) fund by three-fold, from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore per year.
The state government has estimated a revenue surplus budget of Rs 9,506 crore for 2020-21 while it will invest around Rs 26,513 crore as capital expenditure aimed at asset creation. It will borrow money to invest in capital expenditure.
As the state will be hosting the third edition of Make in Odisha conclave, Rs 70 crore has been allocated for the event. To make Odisha the most favoured investment destination, the government has also allocated Rs 284 crore for creating world-class industrial infrastructure.
Adequate allocation has also been made under various social welfare schemes like Mamata Yojana (Rs 305 crore), old age pension (Rs 1718 crore), food security scheme (Rs 1038 crore) and development of old age homes (Rs 164 crore). In its journey to make Odisha the sports capital of the country, the state government has allocated Rs 140 crore for development of sports infrastructure.