A pre-Budget citizenry consultation, jointly organised by the CYSD and the Aide-et-Action here on Sunday, suggested to the State Government to focus on health infrastructures and quality education in the next year’s Budget.
Participating in the programme, experts, academicians, researchers and Government officials too opined for special measures and schemes for education and health, more economic independence of the State to generate own revenue from land revenue, stamp duty and motor vehicle taxes.
The State’s public expenditure on health has increased gradually over the years. For equitable access to good quality of medical services like diagnosis and ultra sound facilities at Community Health Center (CHC) level, more health sub-centres in tribal dominated blocks, is the need of the hour, opined experts.
Taking current trends in budgetary allocation for construction of household latrines, they viewed that the deadline of 2019 to ensure achievement of Open Defecation Free (ODF) Odisha is unlikely to be met.
“Out of the total rural households, only 36,72,135 households have been covered and 44,71,877 households still remain uncovered. To meet the target, `5,366.25 crore needs to be allotted,” stated an expert.
Of elementary schools, 9.3 per cent have single classroom, 3.6 per cent have single teacher, and 70 per cent do not have playground facility. Further, 20 per cent of the contractual teachers are not professionally trained. The drop-out rate is high at the elementary levels (8.59 per cent at Class V and 7.21 per cent at Class VIII).
In case of agriculture, Odisha has seen no dynamism in the past years. During 2011-16, the average annual growth rate (in CAGR percentage terms) was only 3.4 per cent.
Finance Principal Secretary Ashok Meena requested people and experts to suggest to the Government for the upcoming Budget.
“The State Government is facing a challenge to pay the employees according to the 7th Pay Commission. This would have an impact on the Government while preparing the annual budget.
The Government would also roll out welfare schemes to woo the public ahead of the 2019 election,” said Former Finance Minister Panchana Kanungo.
Among others, former bureaucrat Vivek Pattanayak, senior journalists Dillip Satpathy and Tapan Mishra, Prof Bhagabat Patro, Prof Asit Mohanty, social worker Namrata Chhada and Jagadananda were present.