Bhubaneswar, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said that Odisha will lose about Rs 3,000 crore as the divisible pool of Central taxes has shrunk by almost Rs 59,000 crore.
He also expressed concern over the stagnation in the allocation under centrally sponsored schemes, even though he welcomed several initiatives in the Union Budget 2020-21, which was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.
“The divisible pool of Central taxes has shrunk by almost Rs 59,000 crore. This will reduce Odisha’s share by about Rs 3,000 crore,” said the Chief Minister.
He said none of the archaeological sites in Odisha have been included in the iconic sites to be developed. Besides, Odisha deserves a National Tribal Museum, he added.
“Drinking water is a national priority. Allocation of Rs 11,500 crore nationally against an approved plan of Rs 3.6 lakh crore is too little. In fact, Odisha spends about Rs 3,600 crore in drinking water,” Patnaik said.
Informing that Sensex is an indicator of investor confidence, he said the drop of almost 1,000 points on Saturday shows that there is a huge scope to take a number of measures.
“Investor confidence is important for fresh investments to come in to spur growth, which is the biggest challenge now. This will have a huge impact on job creation and livelihood options for our youth,” he added.
The Chief Minister, however, welcomed several initiatives, including Krishi Rail and Krishi Udan for seamless national cold supply chain, and PM-KUSUM to cover 20 lakh farmers for solar pumps.
He also welcomed removal of dividend distribution tax (DDT) and introduction of concessional component tax.
“Odisha had requested for extension of concessional tax rates to cooperatives in line with corporate tax cuts. We welcome the announcement of concessional tax rates for cooperatives,” said the Chief Minister.
He also appreciated the decision to increase deposit insurance coverage from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh and announcement of New Education Policy and FDI in the education sector.
Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka, while welcoming the tax relief to be given to taxpayers, said that it is unfortunate that not a single site from Odisha has been included in the five archaeological sites proposed to be developed as iconic sites.
On the other hand, the state BJP termed the Budget as historic and revolutionary.
“The Budget has taken several historic decisions that would benefit the common people. All these decisions will accelerate the economy and will provide new employment opportunities to the youth. The Budget will be most beneficial to Odisha,” said state BJP chief Samir Mohanty.
