Odisha Exhibits Upward Movement In Fiscal Performance In 2017-18

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has exhibited a clear-cut upward movement by end of the financial year 2017-18 with increase in both of its major indicators like revenue generation from various sources and utilization of the budget allocations on different schemes and programmes, said chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Saturday.

Taking a department wise performance review in an all secretaries’ meeting, the chief secretary directed the departments to avoid the idle parking of money in some or other account. Emphasizing on timely delivery of public services, Padhi asked all departments to link their online service delivery portals with the centralized monitoring system of ( ORTPS) Odisha Right to Public Services developed by general administration department.

The review showed an overall increase of around 16.13 percent in total budget utilization on various programmes by end of the financial year 2017-18 in comparison to 2016-17. Total programme expenditure up to March, 2018 was around Rs 51, 188  crore against Rs 44,078 crore spent up to March, 2017.

Budget utilization in social was around Rs 23,070 crore up to March, 2018 against total spending of Rs 18, 687 crore during last financial year, thereby showing an increase of around 23.45 percent.

The programmes under this sector are principally administered through the departments of school & mass education, scheduled tribe & schedule caste development, health & family welfare, labour & ESI, panchayati raj, women & child development, higher education, skill development & technical education and social security & empowerment of persons with disability.

Similarly, the expenditure in agriculture & allied sector up to March, 2018 has been around Rs.11, 365 crore, which is around 4 percent more than the expenditure of last year. The total expenditure during fiscal year 2016-17 was around Rs.10, 953 crore. The expenditure in this sector principally is executed and monitored through the departments of agriculture & farmers empowerment, water resources, fisheries & animal resource development and cooperation.

The total programme expenditure in infrastructure development during the fiscal year 2017-18 has been around Rs.12,228 crore  against that of Rs. 11,623 crore during 2016-17 with a growth of 5.2 percent. The budget utilization in infrastructure building is undertaken mainly through the departments of works, housing & urban development, rural development and energy.

Keeping tune with the expenditure, the total revenue generation by end of fiscal year 2017-18 has also increased by around 19 percent in comparison to 2016-17.   The total revenue collection up to March, 2017 was around Rs. 30,895 crore which increased to around Rs.36, 730 crore by March this year.