Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide Rs 3,000 crore out of the NITI Aayog funds for keeping up the ongoing Plan programmes in the State. Besides, Patnaik demanded resumption of the Central assistance for the Area Specific Development (ASD) Plans, which include Special Plan for KBK, Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) and the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) being implemented in backward regions.
In a letter to Modi, Patnaik stated that the Odisha Government was yet to gain out of the increased devolution of funds and reduced plan transfers put together. The Chief Minister welcomed the Union Government for accepting the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) recommendations to increase the devolution of Central Taxes from 32 per cent to 42 per cent to allow States to formulate their own schemes in accordance with local needs.
However, he expressed unhappiness that the Centre’s decision to delink eight schemes, abolish Normal Central Assistance for State Plan and to change sharing pattern in 33 schemes would substantially reduce the quantum of Central Assistance for Odisha’s Annual Plan for the current fiscal. Patnaik mentioned that the Thirteenth Finance Commission (TFC) has not recommended revenue deficit grant when the State will have to provide funds for the sector and State specific interventions made by the TFC.
“The loss on account of reduction in Central assistance is estimated at Rs 8037.26 Crore. This is not going to be set off by the 10 percent increase in devolution of funds, which normatively works out to be Rs 5888.43 crore. Thus, the Odisha Government will have to bear an additional liability of Rs 2148.83 crore for 2015-16,” Patnaik pointed out. The Chief Minister expressed apprehensions that delinking of ADPs will severely affect development programmes undertaken in the backward regions. “This will affect socio-economic development of some of the most vulnerable and backward regions of the State,” he said.
He further mentioned that while special Central assistance has been assured for eastern States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Bihar, Odisha was yet to be considered for such assistance. The central funds have long been considered as crucial for poor States, which could have helped in the development of the States.