By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 26, 2015 : Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik appears to have broken his silence over reduced central allocation to the state by indicating that the state would fund from its exchequer to the certain welfare programmes discontinued by the Narendra Modi government based on the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission.

Odisha is set to lose Rs 2148 crore every year after the Centre stopped assistance for.the schemes such as Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF), police modernisation, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan, Model Schools in blocks, tourism infrastructure, National Mission for Food Processing, KBK Yojana for socio-economic development of tribals in the KBK region and Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for development in the Maoist-prone areas.

To ensure that these programmes continue to be implemented in the state, the CM has asked the departments to constitute a special fund from the state exchequer to make up for the Rs 2148 crores at a high level review meeting at the State Secretariat here.

Nevertheless, the state government would pursue with the Centre for reconsideration of its decision on withdrawal of assistance under KBK and IAP schemes among other schemes discontinued by the centre, he informed.

Finance minister Pradip Amat, chief secretary, additional secretary to chief minister, additional chief secretary, Finance and senior officials of the concerned departments were present at the meeting.

Earlier, Congress president in the state Prasad Harichandan claimed that there has been a cut by Rs 66,258.44 crore in 27 welfare schemes. Though NDA government in its 2014-15 budget estimate earmarked Rs 17,858 crore for ICDS programme, finally cut the amount to Rs 8,000 crore in 2015-16 budget, he said, adding the scheme has immense significance for Odisha which has high rate of MMR and IMR.

Prasad also had expressed serious concern over silence of Naveen Patnaik’s BJD government in Odisha.

“Though the BJD government was hitting the streets on drop of hat during UPA rule, it has turned silent even as NDA cuts allocations or discontinues welfare schemes,” he lamented.

Analysts, however, are quite skeptical on the capacity of the state government to mop up over Rs 2000 crore at a time when higher revenue collection is increasingly becoming difficult with a virtual gloom in industrial sector.