Bhubaneswar: Stating that the middle-class and the poor are heavily impacted by price rise and inflation, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday said this budget has not addressed the price rise being faced by people.
“To compound this further, there is a sharp decline in LPG subsidy. This will affect household economics very badly and women will bear the brunt of LPG price rise,” Patnaik said in his reaction to the Union Budget presented in Parliament Tuesday.
Similarly, reduction in MGNREGS in a pandemic situation is not going to help poor people, he said.
“Already, there are serious issues of offtake by Food Corporation of India (FCI) leading to dislocation in paddy procurement. Further, a reduction in food subsidy under National Food Security Act (NFSA) will put farmers in serious trouble. This needs to be reconsidered,” the Chief Minister demanded.
Raising objection on the proposal to collect over 20 per cent of the Union taxes through levy of cess and surcharge, he said, the increasing level of cess and surcharge is shrinking the mandated transfers of share tax due to the states. And this is against the spirit of cooperative federalism, he said.
The sectoral allocation is slashed in critical sectors like agriculture and farmers’ welfare, higher education, rural development and women & child development, which could hamper inclusive growth, Naveen said.
However, the proposed technology-led development in health and education will help the country to a large extent in this pandemic situation, he said.
The focus of the budget on technology and infrastructure-led growth will have a positive impact. The production linked initiative schemes in 14 sectors and extension of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme would be helpful in mitigating supply-side constraints, Patnaik further said.
He expressed happiness for recognizing the importance of millet in the Union Budget. Patnaik also welcomed increase in the allocations under Jal Jivan Mission (JJM), PMAY. However, he criticized the Centre for not considering the demand of Odisha on sanction of rural houses under PAMY-G.
The CM expressed displeasure for not considering Odisha as a special state as it faces natural disasters very frequently.
“Odisha is the only state in the country which is more frequently affected by natural calamities and our repeated demand for special consideration in this regard has not been addressed in the Budget,” he added.
PNN