High-Speed Rail corridors and Tourism Schemes skipped Odisha: Naveen Patnaik on Budget 2026

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], February 1 (ANI): Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday expressed strong disappointment over the Union Budget 2026, criticising the Centre for overlooking Odisha in key developmental announcements and allocations.
In a post shared on X, Patnaik said the budget offered no significant benefits to the state or its people, despite high expectations from the "double-engine government".
"I express my disappointment on the #Budget2026 presented today by the Union Government. The budget has offered no noteworthy benefits to #Odisha and its people. The anticipation from the people of Odisha was that the double engine government would offer a growth momentum with focus on infrastructure, job creation and additional allocation which is due to the state. The state has received very little," Patnaik wrote.
While welcoming the proposal to establish a Rare Earth Corridor in Odisha, Patnaik criticised other announcements as outdated or exclusionary.
"Odisha is the leading producer of several key minerals and will always contribute to nation building through its rich resources. It has again been announced to have National Waterways to connect mineral rich areas and industrial centres to the Ports. But this is a decade old proposal without any progress on the ground," he said.
Patnaik also pointed out Odisha's exclusion from the seven High-Speed Rail corridors and the Tourism-centric Buddhist Circuit scheme.
"It is a huge disappointment for the people of Odisha that the announcement to develop seven High-Speed Rail corridors between cities as 'growth connectors' does not feature Odisha. Odisha BJP nipped the #BhubaneswarMetro project earlier and the neglect of people's needs continues as usual. And it's quite baffling that the Tourism centric Scheme for Development of Buddhist Circuits has completely skipped Odisha despite having several very important Buddhist sites including our Diamond Triangle," the post further read.
"As seen from the entirety of the Union Budget, Odisha is getting allocations only for taking its natural resources away and completely ignored when it comes to resource allocation for benefit of people of the State. It's time the State BJP Govt takes responsibility for people of Odisha and ensure they get their rightful dues from centre. Odisha and its people deserve more and better from the Union Budget," Patnaik added.

I express my disappointment on the #Budget2026 presented today by the Union Government. The budget has offered no noteworthy benefits to #Odisha and its people.

The anticipation from the people of Odisha was that the double engine government would offer a growth momentum with…

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) February 1, 2026

Echoing similar concerns, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra said the budget failed to include Odisha in key projects despite the state being part of the Purvodaya region.
"This budget has been very disappointing. People of Odisha had expected that they would be part of the rail corridor. The rail corridor has Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Varanasi and Siliguri. But it's very unfortunate that despite being in the Purvodaya states, Odisha does not find a mention," he said to ANI.
Patra also welcomed the Rare Earth processing system proposed in Odisha, but questioned its broader impact.
"It says that there will be a rare earth processing system in Odisha and the coastal part of it. Rare earth processing is good; that's perfectly fine. But will it help the local communities? Will it help the farmers? Will it help the tribal communities? It's a specialised unit for a specialised outcome where people of Odisha at large will not benefit," he added.
Earlier today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha, her ninth consecutive Union Budget.
Asserting that the Union Budget 2026-27 is driven by "Yuvashakti" and based on "three kartavyas," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years as part of the Union Budget.
The Union Budget has outlined a major push for environmentally sustainable passenger transport, proposing the development of seven high-speed rail corridors across key urban and economic centres. These corridors will act as growth connectors, cutting travel time, reducing emissions, and supporting regional development.
The proposed routes include Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi, and Varanasi-Siliguri. Together, they will link India's financial hubs, technology centres, manufacturing clusters, and emerging cities through faster, cleaner mobility.
The Budget also highlighted eco-tourism and nature-based travel. The Finance Minister said, "India has the potential and opportunity to offer world-class trekking and hiking experience." The government will develop sustainable mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats and Pudigai Malai in the Western Ghats. (ANI)