New Delhi: While appreciating heavy emphasis on technology in the budget, the BJD Monday said Monday in the Rajya Sabha that 25 per cent of villages in Odisha are without internet. While speaking on the Finance Bill, 2022, BJD MP Amar Patnaik said, “We are in the age of technology but 6,999 villages out of 25,000 in Odisha are still without internet connection. It requires 2,500 mobile stations/towers to achieve this target. When will that happen?”
Patnaik highlighted various issues of the state. The BJD MP said that an amount of Rs 1,623 crore of GST compensation along with the subsidy to be returned by the FCI for procurement of paddy is still pending. There is no clarity as to whether the Union government will lift 15 lakh metric tonne of fortified par-boiled rice.
“About 12 lakh beneficiaries are still waiting for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana houses. When you are having a Budget to address the common people and all sections of the society, I really do not understand as to why these specific areas of concern, as given by the state of Odisha, could not be addressed,” Patnaik said.