By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The Orissa government has sought Rs.15 billion (Rs.1,500 crore) from the central government to tackle the economic slowdown, the government said Wednesday.
Orissa Finance Minister Prafulla Ghadei placed the demand with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in the national capital Tuesday.
“The world is going through a massive economic meltdown and the Indian economy and economies of states are faced with challenging times,” Ghadei said in a memorandum submitted to Ahluwalia.
Orissa implemented the revised payscales and pension for the state employees on the basis of pay commission recommendations, the memorandum said, adding that while this move benefited about 400,000 government employees and around 249,000 pensioners, it had also “put a tremendous pressure on the state’s finances”.
“We urged the centre for grant of Rs.1,500 crore one-time special package to effectively deal with adverse impact of the economic slowdown,” Ghadei said in a statement Wednesday.
He said the Orissa government has progressively increased the state’s annual plan outlay, raising it from Rs.25 billion (Rs.2,500 crore) in 2004-05 to Rs.95 billion (Rs.9,500 crore) in 2008-9.