Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Wednesday expressed serious concern over the reported reduction in Central grants to Odisha under the recommendations of the Sixteenth Finance Commission and urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to strongly take up the matter with the Union government.
Addressing a press conference at the party office, former minister and MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said, “Before coming to power, the BJP had promised to increase Central assistance and help transform Odisha into the No. 1 state in the country.”
“Contrary to those assurances, Odisha’s share in the divisible pool has been reduced from 4.53 per cent under the Fifteenth Finance Commission (2021–26) to 4.42 per cent under the Sixteenth Finance Commission (2026–31), resulting in substantial financial losses for the state,” he said.
Referring to Central schemes, Sahoo claimed that the state had expected to receive Rs 5,800 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana during the 2024–25 financial year, but no funds were released.
He further alleged that the state remained deprived of assistance under the scheme during 2025–26 as well.
Similarly, the state had expected to receive annual assistance of around Rs 6,000 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission, but no funds had been released over the past two years, he alleged.
The BJD leader criticised the state government, alleging that despite Odisha being deprived of its due share under these key schemes, the CM had failed to raise the matter effectively with the Centre.
Sahoo further alleged that Central grants had been reduced because the state government had failed to utilise the budgetary allocations made available to it.
He also claimed that funds released by the Centre were often disbursed towards the end of the financial year, making their timely utilisation difficult.
Claiming that Odisha had emerged as a leading state in financial management during the previous BJD government, Sahoo alleged that the state’s financial condition was now deteriorating.
The former minister urged the BJP government to place Odisha’s legitimate demands before the Centre and secure higher financial assistance for the state, warning that failure to do so could lead to public discontent.