Odisha Opp Accuses Govt Of ‘Double Speak’ On KALIA Beneficiaries

Bhubaneswar: The Opposition BJP and Congress have accused the Odisha government for presenting contradictory statements on the total number of beneficiaries under the KALIA scheme.

While presenting the state Budget in the Assembly on Tuesday, Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari informed that 43 lakh beneficiaries have received assistance under the scheme.

Last year, however, the Agriculture Minister in reply to a question by Congress member Santosh Singh Saluja in the  Assembly had said that the state government has provided financial assistance to 50,85,290 KALIA beneficiaries.

Pointing out the discrepancy in numbers, the Opposition members sought a clarification from the Finance Minister about details of the 7.85 lakh beneficiaries who have received the financial assistance.

On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahu said in a statement in the Assembly that a total of 45,965 KALIA beneficiaries have been found ineligible.

Stating that the government is taking steps to recover the money from these ineligible beneficiaries, he said that 1,863 ineligible beneficiaries have refunded the money till date.