Bhubaneswar: Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari Friday presented the first special supplementary statement of expenditure to the tune of Rs 1443.12 crore in the state Assembly to recoup the advance taken from the Odisha Contingency Fund (OCF) to fund the Kalia (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme.
According to the supplementary Budget statement, the Revenue & Disaster Management department utilised Rs 6.32 crore from the OCF to provide compensation to riot victims as per the Supreme Court’s directive.
Similarly, the state government has allocated Rs 1,244.66 crore for the Kalia scheme (under the Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment department), Rs 22.73 crore for providing input and livelihood assistance to farmers for milk production, fishery and poultry (Fisheries & Animal Resources Development department) and Rs 169.40 crore to disburse pension under various social security schemes (Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disability department).
The state government had enhanced the OCF from Rs 400 crore to Rs 1600 crore in January 2019 through Ordinance route to meet the expenditure incurred in implementing the Kalia scheme. The Ordinance expired after six weeks and the fund was reduced to Rs 400 crore.
As per rules, the government cannot use the Contingency Fund without recouping the advance taken earlier. Therefore, the government has presented a special supplementary statement to reimburse the amount.
