While the Odisha Government wants more funds under the Rashtriya Swachhta Kosh (RSK) scheme, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has alleged that the Union Government has failed to utilise the funds meant for the sanitation programme in the State.
“The BJP-led NDA Government has failed to utilise the amount which it had collected from the general public for funding the programme aimed to address the basic needs of citizens,” said BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satpathy.
“While the collections through the 0.5 per cent cess on all services was meant to be transferred to the non-lapsable RSK, a fund of over Rs 4,000 crore has remained outside the RSK programme", he said.
Satpathy revealed that the Union Government is collecting cess for secondary and higher education through which Rs 83,497 crore has been accumulated in the past five years. “But no scheme has been launched to channelise this fund.
He said the Centre is not assisting the States in building infrastructure for drinking water and sanitation facilities.
He added that the new proportion of 80:20 for distribution of funds under the Sarva Shkshha Abhiyaan which was in the ratio of 60:40 earlier, is also making it difficult for the States to implement education programmes at the grassroots level.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the BJD Government has failed in implementing Central schemes.
“Odisha ranks second from last among the States in construction of public toilets,” BJP State vice-president Sameer Mohanty said. The State Government could have utilised the available funds to build a good number of public toilets for beneficiaries, he said.
”However, it seems that since the scheme has been launched by the Modi Government, the State leadership has intentionally sat over the programmes,” Mohanty added.