**Bhubaneswar:** Amidst hue and cry in Odisha over drawl of Rs 734 crore from contingency funds for the KALIA scheme, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today stormed the BJP and Congress for ‘adopting an anti-farmer perspective’.
BJD Spokesperson Sasmit Patra said that the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) are dedicated to combat the challenges during a disaster.
“During emergencies Contingency Fund is not utilized. It is the SDRF or NDRF which is used during disasters. I believe that the Odisha Congress leaders are either unaware of this fact or feigning ignorance,” said Patra.
Taking on the BJP, Patra said that the saffron party has no rights to challenge Odisha Government’s decision for taking an advance from the Contingency Fund.
“The BJP-led Central Government had sought Rs 756 crore to implement the ‘Swachh Bharat’ Mission. The Contingency Fund was increased from Rs 400 crore to Rs 1,400 crore and the Centre drew an advance for Swacchh Bharat Abhiyaan.”
Patra said that at a time when the KALIA scheme has garnered accolades from a spectrum of financial experts, State and Central Governments, opposing the scheme ‘reflects their anti-farmer attitude’ of the opposition parties.