Odisha targets 9 pc growth during 12th plan: Jamir
15 March, Bhubaneswar
The Odisha government has set to achieve a growth rate of nine per cent during the 12th plan period and emerge as the fastest growing economy in the country.
Addressing the opening day of the budget session of the Odisha Assembly here Tuesday, Governor S C Jamir said, “Our aim is to achieve a growth rate of 9 per cent during the 12th plan period and the government wants to set it as the new normal.” To achieve this the state government, Jamir said, is progressively increasing resource allocation to various state plan activities.
The state government, he said, has approved an outlay of Rs 44,150 crores for 2015-2016 and intend to increase the plan outlay to Rs 45,000 crore during 2016-2017.The governor said the commitment for inclusive growth backed by increasing revenue resource allocation have made the state as the fastest growing economy of the country, nearly doubling the per capita income with highest reduction of poverty in a decade.
He said the government for the first time after a gap of eight years has resorted to open borrowing within the overall limit fixed by the Union government, adding that the entire amount of Rs 3000 crore raised by the government has been fully utilised for capital investment.The governor said despite the economic slow down, the state government could achieve the budgeted target through better revenue mobilisation.
The state’s own tax revenue increased by 17.43 per cent and non revenue receipts registered a growth of 10.40 per cent making the tax/ GSDP ratio to climb to 6.38 per cent.Mr Jamir said there is a change in the national polity in which a number of centrally sponsored schemes and programmes are either restructured or stopped.
The state government for the first time has taken a conscious decision to defer the budget in the legislative assembly to get a clarity on the quantum of funds to be received from the central government so that the budget is prepared in alignment with the relevant provisions in the schemes and programmes supported by the Union government, he informed.
The Governor said despite the discontinuation of special central assistance to the KBK districts, the government has enhanced its contribution from the state plan to complete the ongoing projects in the region. Jamir said Odisha is among the few states in the country which has now an Agriculture cabinet to look into the growth of the cultivation and find ways to overcome the hurdles being faced by the farmers and the first meeting of the cabinet has already been held on March 3 last.BM