Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leader and Bolangir MLA Narasingha Mishra told the Assembly, Thursday, that the state government had misled the House regarding hike in allocations for agriculture and education sectors.
“The state government in the Budget statement claimed that there was hike in spending when it comes to agriculture and education sectors which is misleading as per the expenditure details given in Budget documents,” Mishra told the House.
He said that in 2019-20 the state had sanctioned 3.50 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for education which came down to 3.38 per cent in 2020-21 Budget. Similarly, for the agriculture sector the amount was 3.3 per cent in 2019-20 which has been reduced to 3.25 per cent in 2020-21.
“These are the glaring examples to show how the state government is misleading the people who are being cheated. The state government spoke of the hike and media also reported about the issue with the same narrative,” he said.
The leader also accused the state government and Planning and Convergence Minister Padmanabha Behera of telling the House on how to break the rules. Mishra claimed that during his speech, the minister, earlier in the day, revealed before the House how the MPLAD funds which are not allowed to be spent on temple or classroom renovation or restoration could be used for the same through other means.
Mishra said, “Law says the MPLAD funds cannot be spent on temple and classroom renovation works. The minister also said so but showed how to do the same through other means. He told the House that if the works are done in the name of community hall on such premises the things could be done. So, here we have a lawmaker who is telling us how to break the law.”
He also urged the state government to extend the deadline for submitting applications for regularising residential buildings under amnesty scheme as many of the house owners are still not aware of the scheme.