Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD Lawmaker Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has raised serious questions on the State Government’s claim to make Odisha a 500 Billion Dollar Economy by 2036.
Shri Singh Deo raised the question while participating in the two-day long general discussion of Annual Budget for the year 2025-26.
“I stand here to expose the hollowness, the blatant discrepancies and absolute fabrication in the budget of this government. The budget is not just a set of figures; it speaks volumes of the intention, the vision and policies of the government,” he said.
“As the government was changed after a gap of 24 years, there were massive expectations from the new government. In any state or any country, the expectations would be there to see what would be the policies of the new government,” the BJD Lawmaker said.
The Chief Minister had earlier stated that he would enhance the 113 Billion Dollar economy to 500 dollar economy. To reach a 500 billion dollar economy from the existing 113 billion dollar economy in a period of 10 years, the State needs to grow at a rate of at least 14 percent per annum in real terms, he said.
“At present, our growth rate is 7 percent. How can we enhance it to 14 percent? If the Chief Minister would have known about the equation, he would not have made the statement,” Shri Singh Deo said, adding, someone has misled him.
Even China has not been able to grow at a rate of 14 percent. There is no bar to dream, but it is the responsibility of the government to find the way to realize the dream, the Lawmaker said.
He further said that the government has said that the revenue has also increased in the state from Rs 2.36 lakh crore in 2023-24. The previous BJD government had presented the interim budget with a projection of Rs 2.55 lakh crore for the year 2023-24. Now, the new BJP government has increased it by Rs 34,000 crore only in a year, he pointed out.
Speaking on the debt burden of the State, Shri Singh Deo said, the BJP government has estimated to take Rs 91,000 crore loan during the financial year 2024-25. While the debt stock has increased by Rs 78,000 crore during 24 year rule of the BJD government, the new government has estimated to take Rs 91,000 crore loan in only nine months.
The Government has asked the Odisha State Civil Supply Corporation to take Rs 17,000 crore loan for paddy procurement. Who will pay the debt? From where will the government get the money?, he asked.
When the Congress government was there in Odisha, about 80 percent of the fund went to meet the salary expenses and interest of borrowings, he pointed out.
The annual growth rate harbors around 7 percent and revenue generation remains almost constant. On the other hand, the debt stock is increasing.
Fiscal management should be done but not at the cost of people. Keeping the FRBM limits intact has no value if the social sector does not get enough allocation and the government doesn’t invest in creating capital infrastructure, he suggested.
The Naveen Patnaik Government had formed a Financial Stability Fund of Rs 20,000 crore to meet unseen expenses. But, the BJP government has scrapped it. When our resources will end, what will the government do? Unfortunately, the government has no vision and no plan, it has only political mimicry, the BJD leader further said while lambasting the BJP government.
The market borrowing has increased by almost four times during the past nine months of the BJP government. Though the double engine government is there, the loan is being borrowed from private players, who may auction the state properties, in case of failure. From 7 percent to 24 percent instead of borrowing from their own central government agencies, the leader said.
The budgetary allocation for housing projects has been slashed to 0.7 percent of the entire budget from 1.7 percent allocated during the previous year. The allocation for the health and education sector, women & child development, agriculture and SC, ST Welfare is not sufficient, he said.
At the same time, he pointed out that the BJP Government has failed to make expenditure on the budgetary allocation. The different departments were not able to make expenditures of 60 percent till January end of this year, Senior Lawmaker pointed out.