Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Budget 2020-21, presented in the State Assembly by Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari on Tuesday, has evoked mixed reactions.
Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra said the budget will be of no use in the socio-economic development of the state. “The state government has prepared the budget only to hoodwink the people by giving them false hope,” he said.
Terming the budget as old wine in a new bottle, deputy leader of the Opposition Bishunu Sethi said there is nothing new in it. “What I feel that the state government has mentioned its share amount by matching grant of the Centre in this budget,” he pointed out.
Leader of the Opposition Pradipta Naik, while terming the budget as hopeless, said that the state government has committed a fraud on 20 lakh farmers who will now be deprived of KALIA assistance due to reduction in the budget allocation. “Besides, the government for the fourth consecutive term has not made any provision under Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana,” he added.
Maintaining that the state budget has no vision, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that though Odisha is predominately an agrarian state, the state government has not addressed the basic issues confronting the farmers. “This apart, cottage industries, handlooms and textiles remain neglected,” he observed.
On the other hand, the BJD claimed that the budget is pro-people.
“The state budget has given priority to women empowerment, farmers’ welfare and employment for which maximum allocation has been made. Apart from this, priority has been given to sports,” said media advisor to the state government Manas Mangaraj.
