There is nothing new in the Vote-on-Account for 2019-20 tabled in the Assembly on Thursday as there is no clear indication for and overall development of the State, alleged PCC president Niranjan Patnaik. “The State Government has misled the people by giving false figures in this interim Budget as the elections are near. There is no fund with the BJD Government for KALIA, PEETHA. etc., but the Government went on to implement these schemes and diverted funds meant for contingency,” Patnaik said.
He said the Government has totally failed to provide employment to lakhs of youths and then tried to mislead them by forming a Biju Yuva Vahini allotting Rs 105 crore for it. Out of the total Rs 56,921-crore Vote-on-Account, Rs 25,500 crore is for salary and Rs 13,330 crore for pension. Approximately 50% would go for salary and pension. Also, Rs 6,500 crore would be set aside for loan repayment.
In the KALIA scheme, farmers would get Rs 25,000 in five years. But the question is can this change their financial situation and would this assistance reach the intended beneficiaries, asked the PCC chief.