Odisha Govt To Present Another Vote-On-Account, Says Dy CM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government will present another vote-on-account before coming up with the full budget for 2024-24.

This was stated by deputy chief minister K V Singhdeo on Friday while speaking to media during his visit to New Delhi to attend state ministers’ meet on Central Budget and GST Council meeting.

“The last govt had presented the vote on account till July. We have to present another vote on account and then we will go for full budget,” he said.

On the possible thrust areas in the BJP government’s first budget in the state, he said, “We will prepare our budget only after the Central budget is tabled in the Parliament. We have to consider the allocations and funds made by the Centre in the budget before preparing our budget.”

Singhdeo said he had come to attend the pre-budget and GST Council meeting on behalf of chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Since the chief minister would remain busy for the arrangements for celebration of Snan Purnima in Puri, he could not attend the meeting, he added.

On the demands of the state in the ministerial meeting, he said he would disclose it to the media only after attending the meeting. He also did not comment on the previous government’s persistent demand for special status to Odisha.

It may be noted that previous finance minister Bikram Keshari Arukha had presented the vote-on-account for 2024‐25 with an outlay of Rs 2,55,000 crore in the Odisha Assembly on February 8.

The estimate, which was about 11% more than the annual budget of 2023-24, aimed at meeting the expenditure on the establishments and ongoing schemes and projects from April to July 2024.