Union Budget: Naveen Expresses Concerns for Drastic Reduction of Funds for MGNREGS; Says No Growth in Health and Education Sectors

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday expressed his concerns regarding the drastic reduction of funds for MGNREGS in the Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament.

In his reaction on the Budget, the Chief Minister said that the reduction of funds for MGNREGS will hit the poor people.

The Chief Minister also expressed his disappointment on the Budget towards the health and education sectors.

There has been a decrease or no growth in health and education sectors, the CM said.

The Odisha CM also expressed concerns for reduction in food security budget along with reduction in procurement.

“The reduction in food security budget along with reduction in procurement will hit the poor people as well as farmers. About 80 thousand crores was spent on procurement in 2021-22 while only about 60 thousand crores is kept in this budget. This will cause serious problems in selling crops at Minimum Support Price”, the CM said.

While in 2021-22 an amount of Rupees 2 lakh crores was spent under National Food Security, in this budget only 1.37 lakh crore is kept for this purpose, Naveen said.

Coming down heavily on Odisha BJP for misleading the people on Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Naveen said that the budget provision for Ayushman Bharat ‘PMJAY’ is Rupees 7 thousand 2 hundred crores for the entire country and Odisha spends almost about Rupees2 thousand 4 hundred crores on BSKY in private facilities alone.

“If we include Government facilities it would be around Rupees 6 thousand crores annually under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. Health is an important priority for our State and we believe in investing and in sincere efforts”.

However, the Odisha CM welcomed the good aspects in the Union Budget.

The CM lauded increased capital investment, support to drinking water initiatives and increasing rural housing. These will accelerate growth as well as have social impact in rural areas, he said.

The CM also welcomed the Prime Minister’s thrust on millets. ‘Odisha Millet Mission’ is a pioneering initiatives in the country and I am happy that millets have been given importance in the Budget, he said.

The focus on new world technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things etc. is appreciable. These are some of the good aspects of the Budget. The focus on primitive tribal groups is a welcome step, Naveen added.