Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today dismissed the BJD government's claims about negligence of Odisha by the Centre, saying the BJP-led NDA government has injected over Rs 2.86 lakh crore to ensure rapid growth of the state.
"Since NDA came to power in 2014, total investments in Odisha for projects in various sectors has been Rs 2,86,836 crore. Several of the projects are already under implementation," Pradhan told reporters here highlighting NDA government's achievements in four years.
Asked to comment on the BJD government's repeated allegation that Odisha was neglected during NDA rule, the Union minister asserted that the Centre is discharging its responsibility towards Odisha "quite well and the question of neglecting the state does not arise".
"In a federal set up like ours, the Centre has certain responsibilities towards Odisha and we are doing everything to put the state on the track of speedy development. Flow of funds to Odisha has substantially increased during the last four years of BJP-led NDA rule," he said.
Elaborating on investments made in different sectors in the state, Pradhan said Rs 1,34,780 crore was being invested in various projects in the petroleum sector, while aluminium major NALCO was undertaking a number of projects at a cost of Rs 34,541 crore and steel giant SAIL was investing Rs 16,419 crore.
Investments in infrastructure sector had also gone up substantially with Rs 40,103 crore being invested in constructing national highways and Rs 20,213 crore in railways, while NTPC is investing Rs 23,897 crore for various projects, he said.
Rejecting claims that funds to Odisha had nosedived during NDA government, Pradhan said the state received Rs 82,185 crore from 2010-11 to 2013-14 and the amount more than doubled to Rs 1,96,623 crore during 2015-16 to 2018-19 on the basis of the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.
Stating that Odisha benefitted immensely from introduction of GST, Pradhan said the state also got the true value for its mineral resources due to the introduction of e-auction of mines. Thirteen coal blocks and five other mines were allocated through e-auction in the state enabling it to get Rs 71,783 crore, while it earlier used to get only royalty, he said.
Similarly, Odisha has so far collected Rs 4,300 crore after establishment of the District Mineral Foundation and would be a major beneficiary of the National Steel Policy 2017 with scope for capacity addition, Pradhan said.
Budgetary allocation for railways in the state had also jumped from Rs 4,190 crore during 2009-14 to Rs 20,213 crore during 2014-2019 as the Centre is keen to strengthen rail network in Odisha, he said.
Funds for highway projects had also witnessed substantial increase, he said.
Besides constructing a coastal highway, the Centre is also chalking out plans for developing a modern industrial and tourist circuit and building an outer ring road linking important areas which would go a long way in boosting economic growth and social development too, he said.
Ten distrists of Odisha have been included in the list of "aspirational districts" where development work is being accelerated through a host of programmes under the direct supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pradhan said.
More than 25 lakh poor women in the state have got LPG connection under the Ujjwala Yojana and over 40 lakh families have been provided with electricity, he added.
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