Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
After the day was lost to repeat of adjournments following formal obituary mention, Orissa Legislative Assembly on June 22, as the Opposition Congress walked out, got the Finance Minister Prafulla C. Ghadai place the final budget at 5 in the evening for the current Financial Year that pledges 52.53 per cent of the total amount of Rs. 39,896.59 crore to non-plan, while proposing 33.09 per cent to plan sector.
As against estimated revenue expenditure of Rs 32,418.95 crore, the Government has estimated to have revenue receipts of Rs 31, 445.30 crore that projects a revenue deficit of Rs 1,036.65 crore for the year 2010-11 when in totality the fiscal deficit amounts to Rs.8,208.15 crore. Ghadai indicates ways to make up the deficit through loan and assistance to the tune of Rs.7308.26 crore besides recovery of loan and advances amounting about Rs.243.15 crore. The money thus proposed to be burrowed would increase the total amount of loan the State has made to Rs.43523.11 crore by the end of this fiscal.
Curiously the departments and projects marked for deficiency in funds utilization and corruption have been encouraged with more funds even as ventures designed for posthumous political use of the Chief Minister’s father have bagged sumptuous priority.
Treated with scant priority are departments of Commerce, Law, Civil Supplies and Consumer Welfare, Planning and Coordination, Industries, Forest and Environment, Energy, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry and Cooperation.