While opposition BJD and Congress MLAs staged a walkout and boycotted the budget discussion in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik launched a sharp attack on the previous regime and unveiled the BJP government’s ambitious roadmap to transform rural Odisha.
Naik accused the BJD of failing to honour Biju Patnaik’s vision of taking development to the last mile. “Biju Babu dreamed of a three-tier Panchayati Raj system and rural self-reliance. But the party formed in his name turned 30 blocks across nine districts into migration hotspots over 24 years,” he said. “We will make Odisha migration-free.”
The government has increased the Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water budget by 17% for 2026-27. A new 36-month mission titled ‘Karmabardhisnu Paddhati Madhyamare Jibika Abhibruddhi’ has been launched with Rs 220 crore to tackle distress migration in Balangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada districts.
Key allocations announced:
- Housing: PMAY-G (Rural) – Rs 2,445 crore; Antyodaya – Rs 2,000 crore; PM-JANMAN – Rs 30 crore
- Rural Employment: ‘VIBHI-JI RAM JI’ scheme – Rs 5,575 crore (125 assured workdays + 60-day farming break, wages within 15 days, unemployment allowance if no work)
- Drinking Water: Rs 7,000 crore under Jal Jeevan Mission; target of 100% piped water supply to every rural household by March 2027 (current coverage: 77.15%)
- Road Connectivity: New ‘Power’ mission – Rs 1,000 crore to link 1,043 unconnected habitations with 8,992.97 km of roads; 9,700 km new roads + 350 new bridges planned this year
- Others: Rs 495 crore (Basudha), Rs 1,000 crore (RPWSS), Rs 142 crore for constituency road upgradation, ₹80 crore for disaster-resilient roads, ₹102.50 crore for staff quarters
The House passed Rs 34,104.06 crore for Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Rs 10,204.60 crore for Rural Development departments.
BJP MLAs Santosh Kumar Khatua, Babu Singh, Irashish Acharya, Sanatan Bijuli, Amar Nayak, Bhadab Hansda, Ashrit Pattanayak, Manas Kumar Dutta, Ashok Mohanty, Dushmant Kumar Swain and Umacharan Mallick supported the budget during the debate.
