Bhubaneswar: Emphasising participatory governance, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday said that the process of preparing the state budget has moved beyond the Secretariat and directly reached the people. Stating that his government believes the voice of the people to be the voice of God, the Chief Minister said public opinion is now playing a central role in shaping policies, schemes and budgetary priorities.
Addressing a pre-budget consultation meeting at the Convention Hall of Lok Seva Bhawan, Majhi said valuable suggestions received from citizens are being invited, examined, translated and incorporated into the budget, making it a true people’s budget in every sense. He appealed to experts, civil society representatives and delegates from various sectors to offer thoughtful inputs on government programmes and announcements.
Citing examples of public participation influencing governance, the Chief Minister said the recently launched Chief Minister’s Kanya Vivaha Yojana was formulated based on public opinion. He added that proposed initiatives such as the Jagannath Darshan programme and the Cuttack–Bhubaneswar–Paradeep–Puri Economic Corridor have also originated from suggestions received from the people. Necessary modifications in policies and schemes, he said, are continuously being made in response to public feedback.
The Chief Minister further stated that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Odisha has received strong encouragement in industrialisation, employment generation and economic growth. He said pro-people initiatives of the Central Government, along with the state government’s focused interventions for women and farmers, have energised the rural economy. Several measures beneficial to Odisha have also been announced in the Union Budget 2026–27, he added, noting that the state is receiving national priority under the Prime Minister’s guidance.
For the preparation of the 2026–27 state budget, the Chief Minister said a large number of suggestions are being received through web portals, email, SMS and WhatsApp. He directed departments to carefully record and consider all the inputs emerging from the consultation process, reiterating that in a government of the people, citizens’ opinions will remain paramount.
The meeting was attended by former Finance Ministers Prafulla Ghadei and Niranjan Pujari, former Finance Secretaries Ardhendu Sarangi, A.K. Tripathi and R.N. Senapati, representatives of the Odisha Chamber of Commerce and the Odisha Young Entrepreneurs Association, NGO members, Fintech CEOs, social workers, and the CREDAI Vice President. Senior political leaders Sarada Satapathy, Sajjan Sharma and Manoj Mahapatra were also present, along with more than 50 distinguished personalities from different sectors.
Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Development Commissioner D.K. Singh, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Saswata Mishra, Finance Secretary Sanjib Kumar Mishra and senior officials of the Finance Department attended the meeting.
