CM presents Rs 12K cr supplementary budget

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi presented a supplementary budget of Rs 12,156 crore for the current financial year 2024-25 in the State Assembly on Tuesday. The government, in this supplementary statement of expenditure, has allocated Rs 125 crore for the organisation of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas which is going to be held in Bhubaneswar in January next year.

Similarly, Rs 299 crore has been allocated in the current financial year for the deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces in the State. The government has earmarked Rs 1,056 crore towards the State’s share in the National Health Mission (NHM) programme. The government has made an additional allocation of Rs 644 crore for the implementation of Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana, the flagship healthcare scheme of the State government.

The State government has also provided Rs 1,750 crore for the scheme for Special Central Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure. The scheme is aimed at boosting capital expenditure by the States. An additional amount of Rs 1,196 crore is provided in the supplementary budget for the Subhadra Yojana, a welfare scheme to empower women of the State in the age group of 21 to 60 years through financial assistance.

The State government has allocated Rs 130 crore for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in 22 ITIs of the State in joint collaboration with Tata Technologies Limited. Similarly, Rs 300 crore is provided by the State government in the supplementary budget for Loans to Public Sector Units under the State Energy department.

The State government has also provided Rs 196 crore towards transfer to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as per the State Finance Commission (SFC) award in the Supplementary Statement of Expenditure, 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Rs 338 crore is provided under Madhubabu Pension Yojana in the supplementary budget. The government also allocated Rs 51 crore for installation of CCTV Surveillance System in police stations and outposts. It is pertinent here to mention that the State government has received severe criticism for the absence of CCTV cameras at many police stations following the alleged assault on an Army officer and his fiancée at Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar.

The State government has provided Rs 120 crore towards Disaster Risk Mitigation in the Supplementary Statement of Expenditure, 2024-25 for the modernisation and extension of Fire Services. The State government asserted that the Supplementary Statement of Expenditure, 2024-25 is FRBM compliant as the provision is made against resource backup in the form of either adjustment against savings/ surrender or additional revenue.

The capital outlay for the year 2024-25 will exceed 6% of GSDP including the Supplementary provision. This will help in boosting the economic growth and at the same time enable the State to carry forward different developmental and welfare programmes,” the State government said in the supplementary budget.