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BJD MP Sasmit Patra on Monday termed the Union Budget 2026 disappointing for Odisha, saying the state's key demands were ignored.
Speaking to ANI, he said that despite Odisha facing frequent natural disasters, there was no mention of granting special category status, a demand that has been raised for nearly two decades by BJD and its leader, Naveen Patnaik. "The budget, especially for my state of Odisha, has been rather disappointing. As you know, Odisha faces a number of natural disasters, so we have been demanding a special category state status for almost two decades. And our leader, Shri Naveen Patnaik ji, when he was also Chief Minister at that time as well as now, has been repeatedly demanding special category status. There was no word on it," he said. Patra further said that the demand for revision of coal royalty was not addressed in the budget. He added that Odisha did not feature in high-speed train corridors, the Buddhist circuit, industrial corridors or freight corridors, calling the budget "very disappointing" for the state. "We had been asking for a revision of the coal royalty, that hasn't happened. The high-speed train corridors that were actually established across various cities, Odisha did not feature. Odisha did not feature also on the Buddhist circuit, neither on the industrial corridors nor on the freight corridor. So it's been a very disappointing budget," he added. Patra said that while the government talks about rare earth minerals processing in Odisha, it largely benefits the industry and not farmers. He alleged that issues such as 'katni chatni', non-opening of mandis, capped procurement limits and irregular token distribution continue to affect farmers, adding that even when procurement takes place, the entire produce is not lifted. "Despite Odisha giving 20 Lok Sabha MPs out of 21 to the government, to the BJP, we haven't seen anything purposeful. On the other hand, we are told that rare earth minerals processing is being done in Odisha, but that is for the industry. What do the farmers get? Even today, 'katni chatni' is happening. Mandis are not opening. A 150 kg of limit is being capped on procurement, and even if there is procurement, then tokens are not being provided appropriately. If tokens are being provided, the entire produce is not being lifted," he said. He further said that BJD president Naveen Patnaik has written to the Chief Minister, highlighting these concerns and expressed hope that the Union government would consider Odisha's needs in the budget. On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha, her ninth consecutive Union Budget. Asserting that the Union Budget 2026-27 is driven by "Yuvashakti" and based on "three kartavyas," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years as part of the Union Budget. (ANI)
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