Orissa presents Rs 6,245-crore interim budget

BHUBANESHWAR: Amid walkout from opposition Congress members, Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who also holds the finance portfolio, today presented a vote on account budget of Rs 6245.71 crore in the state assembly for meeting employees salary, pension, loan and interest dues and other essential expenditures from April to July.
Justifying the interim budget in the wake of the government decision to decision to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and to the state assembly, Mr Patnaik said, since the Central government had decided to go for the Lok Sabha elections there would be practically two model code of conduct by February 2005, when the elections to the new Orissa Assembly are due. This may affect the pace of developmental works in the state, he reasoned. Further, simultaneous elections to the LS and Assembly would reduce the poll expenditure, he said.
The interim budget is part of Rs 20,172.92 crore gross budget estimated for the 2004-05 fiscal. Minister of state for finance Panchanan Kanungo listed out the government’s achievements despite ‘extreme fiscal stress caused due to the huge debt burden and the corresponding debt servicing liabilities’. The growth rate in own revenue has increased from 7.6% in 1997-98 to 21.35% in 2002-03, he claimed. Mr Kanungo said due to his government’s pro-active steps, the Union government had converted Central assistance to the eight districts in the KBK region into full grants.