Bhubaneswar, Jul 22 (PTI) Amid resource crunch caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the Odisha government on Wednesday decided to slash new expenditures in non-priority sectors and to go for fund mobilisation for the war against pandemic.

This apart, the 2020-21 budget allocations would also have to be relooked in view of the unprecedented situation triggered by Covid-19 and the need to strengthen the battle against the pandemic, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said while briefing about the decision of a Council of Ministers meeting.

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Noting that the state government has already spent around Rs 1912 crore on Covid-19 management, he said due to reduced revenue caused by sluggish economic activity following the pandemic, the state will have get funds cheaply available under CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016) and OMBDAC (Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation),

Stating that the health sector will be accorded top priority, he said medical expenditures and spending for procurement of equipment including protective gears required to contain the spread of infection and treatment of patients will be fully funded by the state government.

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The council of ministers meeting decided that social security measures will remain uninterrupted, while high priority will be accorded to livelihood interventions in order to ensure that the needy and those hit by the pandemic are given necessary help, Tripathy said.

While the ongoing works will continue, there will be restrictions on fresh investments in non-priority sectors, steps will be taken to encourage and promote Government works in digital mode and provide online services, he said.

It was decided that borrowings will be done in a prudent way from suitable sources at low interest rates after proper consultations to meet the requirements, the chief secretary said.

As the state also anticipates a decrease in central funds, it will have to look for borrowing which would have to be done within enhanced FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003) limits, Tripathy said.

Therefore, instead of going for expensive market borrowings the states strategy will be to get funds cheaply available under (CAMPA), he said adding that Rs 1,000 crore has already been borrowed from these sources.

During April-May, there was 70 per cent less revenue generation, while the deficit has now come down to around 20 per cent as mining auction has helped generate resources, he said.

Emphasising that the state government has undertaken a massive infrastructure development for Covid management, Tripathy said the government has so far spent Rs 340 crore from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF) and Rs 624 crore from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

A sum of Rs 875 crore has been spent from Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rs 73 crore from the Local Area Development Fund funds of legislators.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)