The Assembly on Wednesday passed the Odisha Appropriation Bill, 2021 allowing the state government to spend Rs 1.75 lakh crore from its consolidated fund during the financial year 2021-22. While introducing the Bill, Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari said Rs 85,000 crore has been allocated as administrative expenditure, Rs 75,000 crore as program expenditure, Rs 3,050 crore as disaster response fund, and Rs 6,950 crore towards transfers from the state. He said the passage of the Bill is essential as the funds will be spent for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and appealed to all the members to pass the Bill.

Pujari said that around Rs 8,000 crore has been allocated from off-budget resources like Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC), District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and state PSUs to supplement the budgetary outlay. He had presented the annual Budget in the Assembly on February 22.

Speaker S N Patro announced that the budgetary demands for grants for 33 departments scheduled for discussion were passed through guillotine before the Appropriation Bill. Both the opposition BJP and Congress members participated in the discussion before the passage of the Bill.