Union Budget hugely disappointing: Naveen

Faults it for not making special provisions for Nabakalebar festival and denying Odisha special assistance given to Bihar and West Bengal

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik lashed out at the Union Budget 2015-16, lamenting the lack of any provision for Odisha.

Patnaik launched a two-pronged attack on the Budget, faulting it on lack of any special provision for the auspicious Nabakalebar festival and denying Odisha special assistance on the lines of Bihar and West Bengal.

"As regards Odisha, I'm deeply disappointed both with the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission and the Union Budget. No central allocation for Nabakalebar 2015 has been made in the Budget even though there has been a flow of resources for improvement of facilities in nine other heritage sites in the country”, Patnaik said in his reaction to the Budget.

On lack of special package for Odisha, he said, “While the Budget indicates a focus on rapid development of eastern states and special assistance have been declared for Bihar and West Bengal, Odisha has been completely neglected. Our state faced two of the worst calamities in the last two years consecutively in the form of Phailin and Hud Hud. At least on this score, Odisha deserved special focus. I am shocked that this fact has been completely overlooked in the Union Budget in spite of our repeated demands.”

Patnaik also expressed concern over the possible decline in state's revenue.

"Our share in tax devolution will come down from 4.78 per cent to 4.6 per cent. This will involve a loss of around Rs 4,600 crore over a period of five years. This is because of the inclusion of new criteria such as demographic changes that covers population as per 2011 Census and deletion of the criteria of fiscal discipline”, he said.

The chief minister pointed out that Odisha was being penalised because of its good performance in fiscal discipline and population stabilisation initiatives.

Also, the net positive impact to the state will be minimal after the increase from 32 per cent to 42 per cent in case of central taxes, Patnaik stated.

"The state's share in central taxes in 2014-15 is less than the Budget estimate of 2014-15 by Rs 2136 crore. In 2015-16, it is far less than the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission by about Rs 2,590 crore”, he added.