Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
The Opposition in any legislature gives democracy the real boost by the best possible informed participation in the debates during its sessions. But the 17th Orissa Assembly ended the first phase of its first session under the overwhelming environment of walkout by the Opposition comprising the dethroned BJD and the third-positioned Congress.
Most of the sittings experienced no notable legislative contribution from the Opposition, particularly the Leader of Opposition. He could not engage the House in any real debate. The gracious speech delivered by the Governor was not condemned by the Opposition for use of Hindi in stark disregard to Orissa Official Language Act, but was refused review on the flimsy ground of injury to Oriya mana due to lack of action against one Lalit Kumar, whose misconduct was sloughed over allegedly as his father happened to be the Governor. When the Assembly was to act on the Orissa Appropriation (Vote-on-Account No.2) Bill on Wednesday, the Opposition remained conspicuous by its absence under pretense of protest. Sans any cut, the House approved appropriation of Rs.95,000/- crores proposed in the Bill.
The people of Orissa are not unjustified in their apprehension that the Central Government has not done justice to this peculiar State in the Budget. The Opposition could not justify this apprehension with researched facts, which means it did not properly support the issue it raised.
The Union Government’s refusal to grant Orissa the much needed ‘special category status’ is a matter that should have been discussed threadbare in the Assembly by the Opposition with facts and evidences.
Political refusal is no res judicata
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is certainly wrong in saying that there is no justification in demanding for the status again, as it has earlier been rejected by the central government as well as the Niti Ayog. The Opposition, instead of walking out, should have told the House that, refusal of this status to Orissa by India’s ruling politicians or the country’s politically created setups like the Niti Ayog or the 14th /15th Finance Commissions is no res judicata to hit the demand.
According to the original concept, the criteria for grant of Special Category Status to any State covers five components, such as (1) Hilly Terrain; (2) Low Population Density and/or Sizeable Share of Tribal Population; (3) Strategic Location along Borders with Neighbouring Countries; (4) Economic and Infrastructure Backwardness; and (5) Nonviable Nature of State finances. Orissa is vitiated with all these components. When certain States have been given the status of Special category as per this criteria, the same cannot be denied to a qualifying State like Orissa under any pretence.
As far as Orissa is concerned, majority portion of its land is hilly terrain, 23% of its population is tribal out of which as many as 13 tribal groups are recognised as “Particularly Vulnerable” and In this matter, Orissa has the highest numbers of vulnerable Tribal Groups in entire India (Annual Report, 2019-20, Ministry of Tribal Welfare, Govt. of India, pp.274-275). Thirdly, the Mahodadhi, wrongfully named Bay of Bengal by British colonialists, puts Orissa face-to-face with Myanmar (Burma). Thus, this State is a “Strategic Location along Borders with Neighbouring Countries. Fourthly, the Tribal and non-Tribal Jungle dwellers living in the hilly terrains suffer immensely due to lack of infrastructure and economically are most backward. They are no less than 80% of the State’s population. And, fifthly, the State is in such desperate financial straits that, all its ongoing projects depend entirely on loan and central funding. Howsoever high may be official claim of financial stability, the State Government machinery has confessed – and the Union Government has never differed – that, Orissa’s exposure to fiscal risks arising out of natural disasters, non-repayment of loans extended by the State government to State PSUs, materialization of government guarantees to the State organizations etc. have a negative impact on debt
sustainability”.(Status Paper on Public Ddebt in Odisha, February 2023, Finance Department)
Thus Orissa justifies her demand for Special Category Status. Instead of walking out, the Opposition should have built up a fair and factually strong debate on this issue.
