Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Expressing serious concern over the allocation of funds for various sectors in the Union budget 2016-17, state finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat Tuesday dubbed the budget as “disappointing” and said it would have an adverse impact on the economic condition of the state.
“Adequate budgetary provision has not been made for promoting manufacturing enterprises and industries, and there is no road map for enhancing agricultural profits,” said Amat. Reiterating Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s observations Monday, Amat said there is a mismatch in the growth of net tax revenue at the Centre and tax devolution to the states. The net tax revenue at the Centre has been projected to rise by 3 per cent from `9.20 lakh crore in budget estimates for 2015-16 to `9.48 lakh crore in revised estimates in 2015-16, whereas the tax devolution to the state has gone down by 3.5 per cent in the revised estimates, said Amat.
“When compared with the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, Orissa’s share is less by about Rs 3,500 crore in 2015-16 and by Rs 4,600 crore in 2016-17 from the recommended level,” said Amat. According to finance department officials, Orissa, AP, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will suffer such losses.
Amat said the allocation for tribal welfare under Article 275 (1) and tribal sub-plan (TSP) is almost stagnant while the revenue allocated for irrigation and primary education sectors is also disappointing. CM Naveen Patnaik had Monday said allocation for the central irrigation scheme PMKSY was raised from Rs 5,300 crore to Rs 5,700 crore for the entire country, whereas Orissa’s budget for water resources last year was more than `6,500 crore.