[Watch] Union Budget: Odisha CM Naveen Happy Over Thrust On Millets; Worried For MGNREGS & Food Security Fund Cut

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday voiced concern over some aspects of the Union Budget 2023 and said drastic cut of funds for MGNREGS will hit the poor, while provision for Ayushman Bharat scheme was inadequate.

In his reaction to the Union Budget, the Chief Minister said it has some good aspects which needs to be appreciated and there are some concerns which needs to be looked into and addressed.

“Good steps are, increased capital investment, support to drinking water initiatives and increasing rural housing, he said, adding that these will accelerate growth and have social impact in rural areas,” he said.

Welcoming the Prime Minister’s thrust on millets, Naveen said ‘Odisha Millet Mission’ is a pioneering initiative in the country and “I am happy that millets have been given importance in the Budget.”

The focus on new world technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things etc. is appreciable. These are some of the good aspects of the Budget. The focus on primitive tribal groups is a welcome step, he said.

However, the Chief Minister said there has been drastic reduction of funds for MGNREGS which will hit the poor people. The reduction in food security budget along with reduction in procurement will hit the poor people as well as farmers.

About 80,000 crore was spent on procurement in 2021-22 while only about 60,000 crore is kept in this budget, Naveen said, adding this will cause serious problems in selling crops at Minimum Support Price.

While in 2021-22 an amount of Rs 2 lakh crore was spent under National Food Security, in this budget only 1.37 lakh crore is kept for this purpose, he said.

The Chief Minister said there has been a decrease or no growth in health and education sectors.

“Now to the point which Odisha BJP always harps on. The budget provision for Ayushman Bharat ‘PMJAY’ is Rs 7,200 crore for the entire country and Odisha spends almost about Rs 2,400 crores on BSKY in private facilities alone,” he said.

“If we include government facilities it would be around Rs 6,000 annually under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. Health is an important priority for our State and we believe in investing and in sincere efforts,” the Chief Minister said, adding that BJP state leaders should refrain from ‘misleading’ people on Ayushman Bharat programme.