The year that was: Bitter-sweet tryst with a tumultuous year
By Amarendra Das
The year is about to end amid the looming fear of another Covid surge, owing to the Omicron variant, with the government bringing back restrictions on large gatherings. At the same time, the political weather is heating up for the panchayat election, most likely in February. But before we look ahead, let’s take a look at the year gone by, from the political and economic standpoint.
It started with the government declaring that it would transform the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, into a world-class institution. Next up was the economic survey, presented in February, reporting a 6.2% contraction in the state’s output. Surprisingly, the agriculture and allied sectors reported a nearly seven per cent contraction. Though the finance minister had earlier said the government would spend Rs 1.5 lakh crore during 2020-21, it ended up spending Rs 15,000 crore less than the allocated amount. In spite of this, the finance minister earmarked Rs 1.7 lakh crore for the 2021-22 fiscal. According to the monthly data presented by CAG, the state witnessed a significant rise in revenue collection, until October, compared to the last fiscal. However, in spite of a relatively higher revenue mobilisation, the state spent only 40.58% of the budgeted amount of Rs 1.7 lakh crore.
By March, the second wave of Covid-19 had engulfed the entire state. The controversies surrounding the actual Covid deaths raised the political temperature during summer. The number of cremations in the crematoriums of the twin cities did not match with the Covid death toll announced by the government. This provided fodder to opposition leaders to accuse the government of under-reporting Covid deaths. Unlike some other states, Odisha did not come up with revised data of the deaths caused by Covid. The silence of the chief minister on this matter also drew criticism from the legislators of his own party.
In June, the NITI Ayog rankings put Odisha in 8th place from the bottom in the sustainable development goal index. The state’s performance in the poverty, hunger, gender equality, quality education, decent work and industry categories remained dismal. In November, the NITI Ayog released the multidimensional poverty index, putting Odisha in the ninth place from the bottom. This showed slight improvement in the state’s overall ranking in poverty. However, the concentration of poverty in the tribal-dominated districts implied the failure of the percolation of the growth benefits to the state’s hinterlands.
Odisha is definitely progressing, both in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. The growth is largely driven by the mining and metal industries. But in terms of distribution of the benefits of the growth, the performance is not satisfactory. The state’s focus has remained on providing subsistence to the poor and winning their votes. Even in terms of preparing the state for the long-term sustainable development, the efforts are not enough. Large number of vacancies in healthcare and educational institutions will have severe consequences in the long term.
The opposition in the state has remained weak. Both the Congress and the BJP have failed to mobilise the people against the failures of the state. In order to divert the attention of the public from major controversial issues, the government uses the defence of setting up inquiry commissions. Most of the commissions either do not submit reports or the reports are never brought to the notice of the public.
The biggest asset of Naveen has been his clean image. But the Biju Janata Dal – is gradually becoming a one-man show. The legislators of his party remain insecure as he brings a number of new faces in every election.
Last but not the least, the adjournment of the legislative assembly much before the scheduled time and the high-voltage political drama in the House by both the ruling party and the opposition does not augur well for the state in the days to come.
(The writer is a faculty at NISER, Bhubaneswar)
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