Bhubaneswar, March 25: The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) today came down heavily on the Orissa government for trying to hide its own failures by blaming the Centre of being miserly in releasing funds for Orissa.
“The state’s claim of neglect by the Centre is a hoax. The state has failed miserably to utilise central funds over the years,” said PCC president K.P. Singh Deo..
Singh Deo’s statement comes in the wake of the Congress’s Orissa affairs in-charge Jagdish Tytler’s call to state party leaders to put up a united front and “expose” the state government during his recent visit to the state.
Congress MLA Naba Kishore Das, said: “The state has fared poorly in mobilising revenue through its own resources over the years. During the period 2000-2001 and 2009-10, the Centre has given the state Rs 6,180.91 crore under non-planned expenditure and Rs 11,499.64 crore under the state plan.” He added that another Rs 510.12 crore had been sanctioned as central plan during the same period; Rs 4,648.02 crore was allocated under the Centre-sponsored plan.
The Orissa government’s contribution to the state’s total revenue receipts has been less than 50 per cent whereas Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have contributed more than two-thirds of their total revenue receipts over the years.
The central plan and Centre-sponsored plan funds for Orissa together show an increasing share over the years.
“This refutes the charge that the Centre has been neglecting the state in plan schemes. Over the years, the share of the state’s plan funds has shown an increase. This, too, shows that the allegation is misplaced,” Das added.
Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh said: “The utilisation of the central plan and Centre-sponsored funds is minimal compared to the utilisation of the state plan.”
The state is yet to submit to the Centre the utilisation certificate (UC) for Rs 4,323.08 crore used till April 1, 2010.
“Despite a pending UC of Rs 4,240.62 crore during the financial year 2008-09, the Centre has supported the state with a grant of Rs 4,767.45 crore of which the UC for only 38.40 per cent has been submitted to the Centre,” Singh said.
