In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik has demanded issue of a White Paper by the State Government to set to rest concerns over its and the BJD’s silence over the closure of important Central schemes and drastic cut in social sector funding.
The former PCC president has expressed anguish over the unilateral closure of many Centrally-sponsored schemes started by the UPA Government, e.g., the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF), Integrated Action Plan (IAP), Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF), etc., and an unprecedented cut of nearly 50 per cent in social sector schemes such as the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS), Midday Meal (MDM), Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (SABlA), Food Subsidy, National Health Mission, National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).
Niranjan Patnaik has described as unjustified and perverse the argument by the Central Government that the drastic reduction in the Central support has been carried out after implementing the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission increasing the States’ shares of taxes from 32% to 42%.
The Finance Commission is a Constitutional arrangement for establishing a mandatory formula for devolution of taxes to States and the Centre does no favours by implementing its recommendations. Besides, the Finance Commission had not asked for a cut on social sector funding for increasing devolution, Patnaik has stated, adding, “Unfortunately, the State Government has deliberately kept the entire affair opaque to conceal its inability to protest.”
According to him, it is “puzzling” that while the BJD and its Government had raised the bogey of Central neglect during the UPA regime, they are silent over the NDA Government’s injustice to the State. The demands like Special Category status for Odisha are missing from the BJD’s dictionary since the last one year, he has pointed out.
“Is it that the (Centre’s) cooperation extends to other invisible areas such as CBI investigation into the chit fund scam and therefore you have political compulsion to maintain silence despite knowing full well that the decisions by the Central Government affects core interests of the people of the StateIJ” Patnaik has asked the CM.
“My specific request, therefore, is that the State Government should issue a White Paper explaining to the people (about the closure of important Central schemes and drastic cut in social sector funding),” Patnaik has said.