Odisha Budget Bytes: Tourism and Sports Get All-Time High Allocation

Bhubaneswar: Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari on Monday presented a transformation-oriented annual budget for 2021-22 in the Odisha Assembly with an outlay of ₹1,70,000crore, which is about 26 per cent more than the 2020-21 revised estimate.

With an aim to provide top-class infrastructure in the state, the government has increased the budget for the tourism sector by 25 per cent

Heritage Conservation and Tourism Development:

• The Tourism department has got a record ₹500 crore
• ₹542 crore allocated to transform Puri into World Heritage City under ABADHA scheme
• ₹200 crore allocated under Ekamra Kshetra Amenities and Monuments Revival Action (EKAMRA) Plan
• ₹200 crore allocated under Samaleswari temple Area Management And Local Economic Initiative (SAMALEI) scheme
• ₹349 crore for the Development & Management of Tourist Infrastructure
• ₹83 crore for Publicity of Tourism.

Sports Development:

• Huge increase in Sports infrastructure development with the allocation of Rs 400 crores during 2021-22.
• Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela will be one of the venues for the Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 and is going to India’s Largest Hockey stadium with 20000 chaired seating capacity and among the most modern hockey stadiums in the World. The project is taken up at a cost of Rs 120 crores.
• Kalinga Stadium will be upgraded with Indoor Athletic Tracks and Swimming pools and High-Performance Centre infrastructure. The project is taken up at a cost of Rs 200 crores.
• State Urban Sports Development project is being taken up at a cost of Rs 450 crores to provide Indoor sports halls in all ULBs and Football/Cricket fields in Municipalities and Municipal Corporations.
• An investment of nearly Rs 800 crore will be made in the next 1-2 years to give a major push to the sports infrastructure across the state. A convergence of State budget, DMF and CSR funds will be used for funding the projects.

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