Ram Madhav slams Odisha govt over central govt schemes; cites unpleasant experience

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government of not utilising the schemes of the Central government proactively. He added that the state government does not submit proposals for new projects, while it failed to utilise the funds sanctioned by the Central government. This statement from Madhav comes after Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari on Tuesday presented the annual budget for 2020-21 with an outlay of Rs 1,50,000 crore, a rise of 11.1 in comparison to the previous fiscal.

Speaking to a news daily, Madhav said that it is the responsibility of the state government to make full utilisation of the funds sanctioned in the budget. He added that the government has given a boost to the infrastructure projects in the Union Budget this time and the Odisha government should wake up from deep slumber and take advantage of the initiatives. 

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Madhav cites an unpleasant experience with Odisha Government 

Madhav said it is sad that the people of Odisha are deprived of health initiatives like the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, as the state government is not implementing the scheme. He termed the Union Budget as growth-oriented which has given importance to several sectors including agriculture, water resources and infrastructure, start-ups, women and socially and economically backward classes.

Furthermore, Madhav said that the experience with the Odisha government has not been a pleasant one. Instead of levelling false allegations of being ignored by the Central government, it must make proper utilisation of the sanctioned funds. He added that the Centre is ready to extend full cooperation to the state.

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Odisha Govt Presents Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore Budget For FY21

Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari on Tuesday presented the annual budget for 2020-21 with an outlay of Rs 1,50,000 crore, a rise of 11.1 in comparison to the previous fiscal. While Rs 65,655 crore has been allocated as administrative expenditure, Rs 74,000 crore is meant for programme expenditure, Rs 3,200 crore for disaster response fund and Rs 7,145 crore towards transfers from the state, Pujari said in the assembly, describing it as a revenue surplus budget.

The minister had presented a Rs 1.39 lakh-crore budget for 2019-20. Pujari said the outlay is proposed to be financed through revenue receipt of Rs 1,24,300 crore and borrowing and another receipt of Rs 25,700 crore. "The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 3 per cent of GSDP for the year 2020-21," he said.

The total revenue receipt include the state's own tax of Rs 38,350 crore and non-tax revenue of Rs 17,650 crore, its share in central taxes for Rs 36,300 crore and grants from the Centre for Rs 32,000 crore. The capital outlay in 2020-21 is Rs 26,513 crore, which is about 4.5 per cent of the GSDP.

READ: Odisha govt presents Rs 1.5 lakh crore budget for FY21

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