Naveen Patnaik lauds Budget 2021, says dip in share of central taxes worrying

The Odisha CM said the Centre's replication of the state scheme of Mamata and Mission Shakti was a logical step towards women empowerment.

Published on: Feb 1, 2021, 21:57:16 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday praised the Union Budget that was presented in Parliament by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying the Centre's replication of state scheme of Mamata and Mission Shakti was a logical step towards women empowerment.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik praised the Budget for its focus on capital investment to boost growth, reintroduction of developmental financial institution, allocation for Covid-19 vaccines, industry and sector specific interventions. (PTI FILE PHOTO).

But he expressed his concern that Odisha would be hit by the drastic reduction of share in central taxes by about ₹10,840 crore for the current year and as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, the horizontal share will decrease from 4.629 per cent to 4.528 per cent for the next 5 years.

“After Odisha’s Mamata scheme was adopted by the Centre from 2011-2012, replication of our state’s flagship women empowerment initiative Mission Shakti clearly shows that Odisha has set a benchmark for the nation. I am hopeful that after Mamata and Mission Shakti the next logical step towards women empowerment would be reservation for women in Lok Sabha and the state assemblies. We will continue to fight for this,” he said.

Patnaik praised the Budget for its focus on capital investment to boost growth, reintroduction of developmental financial institution, allocation for Covid-19 vaccines, industry and sector specific interventions.

“Further capital investments very much required in Odisha both in railways and highways sectors as it has been planned for other states. There is a need to increase allocation in social assistance programmes and quantum of transfers for local bodies. Centralization of revenue by introduction of cess in petrol and diesel will weaken the Centre- state fiscal balance,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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